God's Unaltered Word

Good Morning!! The Word of God is a unified and faultless, body of truth,...It cannot be broken. As Jesus reminded His audience; It cannot be properly taught or accepted in parts. It cannot be broken up, in order to pit one verse or truth against another,...they all stand or fall together. The same word "broken" is used in the book of Acts when a congregation "broke up", after a meeting. (13:43) Each person went his or her own way, without regard to the others in the crowd. Jesus says the Scripture is not like this,...not a single verse goes astray from the rest, or expresses truth apart from the rest.

If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?—John 10:35-36  

On the other hand, almost every major cult or aberration of orthodox Christianity, has come out of affirming one part of Scripture, while denying or ignoring the rest. This always produces lop-sided theology. It's only by taking a careful and thorough "analogy of the faith", that we come to a well-rounded, accurate understanding of God's message to, and for us. Is this how your read the Bible? Is this how you study the Bible? Do you pick favorite verses, or "pet" texts, in order to shape your opinions of God, and His Word, or do you perform the hard work of systematic exegesis in order to grow in grace, and in the understanding of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

The Bible is perfect and whole,...but it's only perfect, when it is whole.

The scripture cannot be broken, so the ones who wrest the scriptures,...bending, twisting God's Word,
...do so to their own destruction.(2 Peter 3:16)

"Being a disciple of Christ means agreeing to take on His priorities, agendas, and missions, as our own." 

Death and Dying

Good Morning!! "What happens when we die?" This continues to be one of the biggest, if not the most important question that humans face,...and yet we have no way of finding out the answer for ourselves,...that is until the time of death comes for us. In the mean time, every one of us, regardless of our religion or worldview, has to answer that question by faith. We all live by faith in some unproven idea of the afterlife. But, Paul reminds us in today's verse, that this does not mean that we cannot be confident as Christians.

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.—2 Corinthians 5:8 (NIV)

In the verse before, Paul affirms that "we walk by faith, not by sight." This is certainly true when we speak of life after death. There is no soul-sleep,...or purgatory,...or in-between world. At the instant of our death, we will be ushered into the presence of the Lord. This is encouraging and heartening, but it is also sobering. On the one hand, death is little more than a doorway into God's presence. If we are trusting in Jesus Christ for our salvation, then that faith will be instantly rewarded and confirmed at the moment of our death. On the other hand, Paul warns us, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" (v10) to give an account of our lives. It is a serious thing to stand before an all-knowing and holy judge!

"we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him"—2 Corinthians 5:8 (NIV)

By faith in Christ, we go to God, and are accepted into Hims arms. Amen.

"Being a disciple of Christ means agreeing to take on His priorities, agendas, and missions, as our own."    

Faith Or Fear

Good Morning!! What is the first reaction that most of us have in a crisis? That first emotion when we hear bad news?  If we are honest with ourselves, it is probably fear. Even those of us who calmly take control, call for the bandages, carefully follow the emergency procedures that we may have learned, and logically work to solve the problem still experience that initial "punched in the gut" feeling before our common sense and training take over. And what if the crisis is a very personal one,...illness, death, loss of a job, etc.? After the initial phase of fear and denial, what do you do then? How do you feel? What are your coping mechanisms?

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.—Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

 

I will honestly admit that for most of my life, fear and anger was the ruling emotions in a crisis. Sure, I wanted to "trust God",...but where was He when my world was crumbling? I couldn't wait around for Him to "show up", and clean up the mess. I needed answers NOW!,...and God wasn't speaking up, when I was falling apart. I have recently come to understand that my "faith" only applied when things were going my way. And when faith and trust were tested, by the trials and tribulations of life,...I wasn't really turning to God for my strength and my salvation. I really couldn't completely trust and relax in God's care. I wasn't able find peace in the midst of my panic,...and even though I asked for God's help, I wouldn't get out of His way,...and let Him work. I was still relying on myself; to "do something", to fix things.

 

So many continue to ask God for help,...and then tell Him that they don't really believe that He can or will,
...by continuing to stress and worry.
You must learn as I did; to "Let Go,...and Let God!"

 

The fundamental issues at the core of our worry are these: 

1. We really don't trust God. 
2. We don't think He would use His power to save us.
3. We don't think we are worthy,...and we don't really understand the meaning of "Grace."
4. We are impatient,...and want God to answer our prayers, our way.

...which led us back to #1,...We don't really trust God,...or His plan for our life.

"Faith helps us walk fearlessly,
run confidently,
and live victoriously."