Woah, there. What kind of title is that for a Christian blog on Biblical Truth? It's a true one, but it's also dangerous. I don't want to come off as extremely cynical or unspiritual or anything like that. I love God, I follow Jesus, and I know the difference. The sad thing is many people do not. Here is where the danger lurks. Too many times too many people put Jesus on this pedestal that rises far above the Father, completely forgetting that without Yahweh, the Christ is nothing. We can see that He admitted it Himself in John 5 verses 19 and 30. Jesus prays to God, asks for His help, appeals to Him in His time of need ("pass this cup from me...") and finally surrenders His spirit to the Great and Powerful Almighty.
Yes, Jesus is King. Yes, Jesus is Lord, but never forget that God is Lord of All--including Jesus. I have this constant worry that when people freely throw around the term "Jesus is Lord" they are forgetting the True Lord. The Hebrews' God, the Father of all mankind including Jesus Himself. Remember, part of the reason Jesus came was to show us how to live. God never did that, up to that point He only told us. He had His human side, too. I believe it is borderline blasphemy to pray directly to Jesus; we pray to God in Jesus' name. The Apostles all did 'God's work in the name of Christ', they did not work directly for Jesus. They worked because of Him.
Don't get it twisted, don't be the lizard.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Way God Works
I noticed something interesting; one of those “God coincidences” He has set up ever so carefully throughout history to coincide with the life and death of Jesus. The Egyptian ankh, a symbol of great mystery and power, strangely resembles a crucifix. Not just a cross, but a cross with a person on it. There are the legs, the arms, and a round top which looks like a head. In Egyptian culture, the ankh is a symbol for life. In the Judeo-Christian culture, the cross is the same. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
You Were Created to Love and Be Loved
Something amazing appeared in my inbox and I felt I needed to share. This is courtesy of JesusCentral.com, but I don't know who actually wrote it.
- There is a Supreme God who created all things
- This Creator God defines Himself as love
- He created people to express His love
- His deep desire is that people walk with Him in a relationship of love, pure and without blame
- When He created the first people, His relationship with people gave them purpose, security, belonging and value
- God also gave people a choice
- A relationship of love involves choice, it can not be forced, or it is merely control
- With that freedom of choice, people decided to rebel against God
- With a broken relationship from God, it created a need for people to go find elsewhere their needed purpose, security, belonging and value
- People now look to the world and others to fill their deepest needs, but this can only happen through a restored relationship with the Creator God
- God did not give up on people and sought a solution to restore relationships with people
- God’s solution was to come down to earth in human form (Jesus), and prove His love by paying a huge sacrifice (greater love has no man than this…)
- Jesus’ message is that God wants us to live abundantly, yet this requires us living in harmony with our Creator and each other, and having the purpose of serving others.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hey Now, Don't Dream It's Over
Most people assume the Wrath of God has been appeased since Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross that fateful day. Especially Christians. I’ve met a lot of people who refuse to believe God would actually harm people, and that it’s “only their sin that is getting them hurt”. Well, that is true too, but Christ’s death has not relieved godless heathens from God’s judgment. Heck, followers of Jesus aren’t even completely exempt (Romans 14:12). Every day we see examples of God enacting penance for the ways of the world, and I know I’ll probably be crucified (no pun intended) for saying this, but Hurricane Katrina is the perfect example.
You take a city like New Orleans, make it home to the most perverse, godless, depraved acts of mankind, and of course God will see it the way He saw Sodom and Gomorrah. Think about it. New Orleans, really Louisiana in general, is voodoo capital of the United States. It hosts Mardi Gras, which is supposed to be the celebration leading up to Lent, one of the holiest and most important aspects of Jesus’ life. You can find out more about it here. As a way of celebrating Jesus’ time in the desert people get drunk, flash their boobs in the streets, and have crazy orgies in the hotels. Sounds like the part in Mark 11:15 where Jesus overturned tables in the temple.
Then, to top it off, the city has been this way for a very long time. “But what about the good people? What about the Christians?” First off, read Psalm 53 then think about the state of that city. If there were so many so-called ‘decent Christians’ living there the citizens’ practices would have floundered and the rest of the country would have noticed. However, this city remained to be one the most offensive, blasphemous, godless cities the world has to offer and was required to pay the price. God is still angry. He will always be angry until the rapture. He is still jealous, He is still great, He is still merciful, why would He stop being angry? Look at the accounts of Jesus’ death. Towards the end of His life He shouted “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” which means “Father, Father why have You forsaken me?” I’m sure atheists and deists have a field day with this one. But, Jesus did not shout this because He was dying and was angry at God, it was because He was momentarily abandoned by God. It was at this point when all the world’s sins—past, present, and future—came upon the Christ and He became so ugly, so horrific in God’s eyes that the Heavenly Father couldn’t even stand to look at Him. This is great proof that Jesus is who He said He is, because He actually knew that God had temporarily left Him.
If the Father can completely turn away from the Son at this moment of sinfulness, imagine His reaction to our lives. This wasn’t Old Testament times anymore, this was a little less than 2000 years ago and God reacts thusly. We see examples in the book of Acts where God exacts justice. He never stopped being angry, He only started giving more grace because of Jesus. It is more true than ever now, accept Christ or die. Remember in Revelations a key point is that it will only get worse before it gets better. God still does kill people, only it’s become “Politically Incorrect” to say such a thing. God doesn’t change, people do. As one last little example to prove God is still mighty and powerful, when I was struggling with my porn addiction I held my Bible and asked God for a passage to help me. You know which one He gave me? The beginning of Ezekiel 7, the first six or seven verses. He could have shown me 1 Timothy 5:2 or Colossians 3:5, basically anything about sexual immorality, but He chose that particular message as a means of displaying His anger and hatred of sin.
Don’t be the lizard.
You take a city like New Orleans, make it home to the most perverse, godless, depraved acts of mankind, and of course God will see it the way He saw Sodom and Gomorrah. Think about it. New Orleans, really Louisiana in general, is voodoo capital of the United States. It hosts Mardi Gras, which is supposed to be the celebration leading up to Lent, one of the holiest and most important aspects of Jesus’ life. You can find out more about it here. As a way of celebrating Jesus’ time in the desert people get drunk, flash their boobs in the streets, and have crazy orgies in the hotels. Sounds like the part in Mark 11:15 where Jesus overturned tables in the temple.
Then, to top it off, the city has been this way for a very long time. “But what about the good people? What about the Christians?” First off, read Psalm 53 then think about the state of that city. If there were so many so-called ‘decent Christians’ living there the citizens’ practices would have floundered and the rest of the country would have noticed. However, this city remained to be one the most offensive, blasphemous, godless cities the world has to offer and was required to pay the price. God is still angry. He will always be angry until the rapture. He is still jealous, He is still great, He is still merciful, why would He stop being angry? Look at the accounts of Jesus’ death. Towards the end of His life He shouted “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” which means “Father, Father why have You forsaken me?” I’m sure atheists and deists have a field day with this one. But, Jesus did not shout this because He was dying and was angry at God, it was because He was momentarily abandoned by God. It was at this point when all the world’s sins—past, present, and future—came upon the Christ and He became so ugly, so horrific in God’s eyes that the Heavenly Father couldn’t even stand to look at Him. This is great proof that Jesus is who He said He is, because He actually knew that God had temporarily left Him.
If the Father can completely turn away from the Son at this moment of sinfulness, imagine His reaction to our lives. This wasn’t Old Testament times anymore, this was a little less than 2000 years ago and God reacts thusly. We see examples in the book of Acts where God exacts justice. He never stopped being angry, He only started giving more grace because of Jesus. It is more true than ever now, accept Christ or die. Remember in Revelations a key point is that it will only get worse before it gets better. God still does kill people, only it’s become “Politically Incorrect” to say such a thing. God doesn’t change, people do. As one last little example to prove God is still mighty and powerful, when I was struggling with my porn addiction I held my Bible and asked God for a passage to help me. You know which one He gave me? The beginning of Ezekiel 7, the first six or seven verses. He could have shown me 1 Timothy 5:2 or Colossians 3:5, basically anything about sexual immorality, but He chose that particular message as a means of displaying His anger and hatred of sin.
Don’t be the lizard.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Religion as Entertainment
There is a sweeping epidemic plaguing our spiritual world and it is threatening the righteousness of every Godly person in its wake. What I speak of is religious services that are designed to be highly entertaining. This is not to say that sermons cannot be humorous or pastors cannot smile during their preaching. I am referring to the times when there is no distinction between sermon and standup special, sacramental procession and carnival act.
Straight up, the Bible is not funny. The gospel is not comedic, it is dire and dreadful. The basic message tells us ‘we are all sinners, we should all die among our sins and be separated from God forever, and unless we live like Christ that is exactly what will happen to us’. This is far from entertaining or humorous. There are times of great destruction and despair, rape scenes, murders, and great people falling from great heights resulting in a complete disappointment in themselves and many around them.
Jesus spoke in parables, so do clergy. It just so happens that a lot of modern parables happen to be funny anecdotes. This doesn’t mean the entire Sunday morning service should be as such. When the message is delivered in a humorous way, it is perfectly fine. When the entertainment becomes the message, it becomes diluted. Singing, dancing, music, movies, and skits are all nice things to have in a church, even during service, but only when they convey a meaning. The focus should not be on the entertainment itself, but rather what the particular mode of expression is telling us.
There is a particular church in Doral which exemplifies this act. The welcome video on their website shows a series of different services, each one featuring pyrotechnics, acrobatics, and even an ATV driving onto the stage. Stage! There are no more altars, they are merely platforms where the players of a watered-down gospel can conduct their shows. To reiterate, the gospel contains a very serious message. The Bible offers a very real and very solemn way of life which includes humility, maturity, and calmness. A laughing congregation is one thing, a circus performance is entirely off-tilt. It is hard to take Jesus seriously when the house lights are inducing epileptic seizures.
Don’t be the lizard.
Straight up, the Bible is not funny. The gospel is not comedic, it is dire and dreadful. The basic message tells us ‘we are all sinners, we should all die among our sins and be separated from God forever, and unless we live like Christ that is exactly what will happen to us’. This is far from entertaining or humorous. There are times of great destruction and despair, rape scenes, murders, and great people falling from great heights resulting in a complete disappointment in themselves and many around them.
Jesus spoke in parables, so do clergy. It just so happens that a lot of modern parables happen to be funny anecdotes. This doesn’t mean the entire Sunday morning service should be as such. When the message is delivered in a humorous way, it is perfectly fine. When the entertainment becomes the message, it becomes diluted. Singing, dancing, music, movies, and skits are all nice things to have in a church, even during service, but only when they convey a meaning. The focus should not be on the entertainment itself, but rather what the particular mode of expression is telling us.
There is a particular church in Doral which exemplifies this act. The welcome video on their website shows a series of different services, each one featuring pyrotechnics, acrobatics, and even an ATV driving onto the stage. Stage! There are no more altars, they are merely platforms where the players of a watered-down gospel can conduct their shows. To reiterate, the gospel contains a very serious message. The Bible offers a very real and very solemn way of life which includes humility, maturity, and calmness. A laughing congregation is one thing, a circus performance is entirely off-tilt. It is hard to take Jesus seriously when the house lights are inducing epileptic seizures.
Don’t be the lizard.
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