A Knight's Blog

Having read about the revivals happening Asia (China, Singapore, South Korea and etc), I have a New Year's Resolution in addition to resolving to conquer vices and addictions, let each nation usher forth revival! A revival can only begin at the behest of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the time has come for America to join Asia and repent. Revivals begins with repentence and from there the ressurection of the Spirit in the souls of the saved. This outpouring of God's Spirit requires us to humble ourselves and pray. We must be penitent if we seek the power of the Almighty to come down upon our country! This New Year's let the church call for revival! May those who have been careless and coveteous turn back to Christ! Revival is taking place in all of Asia and the Middle East! Even in Iran, the Gospel is gaining acceptance and the Spirit of the Lord is drawing more to Himself. We must put aside pride and our desire for control. Fear must give way to faith (trust), if we

I was attending a Sunday service recently and the sermon the pastor shared inspired me. The pastor described the spiritual climate of Israel right before the Birth of Christ. He mentioned the different religious groups that had decided to respond to God's silence and their circumstances of having beein opressed by conquerors for almost an mellenium. The first group was The Sadduces, they were Jews who decided that resisting the Romans was futile and they instead fostered tolerance and intermingling of ideas. The Sadduces essentially decided that there were more commanligties than differences between Jews and Romans, and so they rose as a religious class favored by Rome. The Sadduces however had to subvert their faith in order to keep this interfaith relationship with the Romans and as a result left many of the principles of Bible and even abandoned beleif in the ressurection. The second group was the Pharisees who responded to God being silent and thier circumstances by establish

In Eden man sinned. In the Garden Adam and Eve, the first man and woman disobeyed Yahweh by partaking of fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This act brought sin, separation between God and every person. The architect of this fall was the Fallen One, Satan. Often he is depicted as a snake talking to Eve, but the ancient Hebrew word was Seraphim which is an angel and translates serpent in English. It says Enoch rebuked the serpents and it is clear they were not the slithering amphibians.  When Adam and Eve made their exodus out of Eden and into the Earth, the world as we know if now was started. From then on man would try to interpret what is good or evil, and this is playing God. The truth is only The Almighty can truly know what is good or evil and thus the choice to eat on the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was to usurp God and try to take a position only the Lord was to have (something Satan tried to do: Isaiah ). Even Satan said, &q

Christ is my country. In Him I am home. In no people or place can I find peace. This world is where I waunder, but in Christ I am filled with wonder. The Lord is where I can lodge. My soul can only settle in the Savior. This spinning orb has only swords and searing pain. So many marginlize and maim, but the Messiah is mindful of me. Evils beset anyone who makes-Emmanuel there everything. For the Prince of this World does not-want us to be completely part of The Prince of Peace. Christ is my country and His love is my money. -A Poem by Jeffrey Gassler  12/28/2014 

 Peter Jackson has put together a trilogy. The Hobbit, Tolkien's shortest book has been split into three films: The Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and the newly released The Battle of Five Armies. Most critics have claimed that this story could have been just two movies and that this conclusion is almost pointless. Those who have read my blog know my disposition on The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works. I have made clear my concerns about the Norse mythology resurgancy he started and the magick elements. The Battle of the Five Armies confirms my concerns and even does something I thought I would never see. But first, I shall break this post into three part, the good, the bad, and the ugly. THE GOOD I shall start with the good. In this final chapter there are moments that will move any Christian. The story of how greed and love of money corrupts will resonate with many. The ideal of loyalty, that no matter how bad it gets, people stay true to one

There are two testates that keep us Christians in Truth. The first is The Bible, God's Word which has all the guidlines for good doctrine, safe practice, and how to seek the Lord. The second testate is The Holy Spirit. The part of the Triune God that gives us dicernment, prophecy, words of knowledge, tounges, faith, healing, and etc. (See 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Ephensians 4:7-13, and Romans 12:3-8). Between these two there can be no error. A mentor in the faith once said, "All word and you dry up, all spirit and you blow up, both word and spirit and you grow up." The words of my friend in the faith are true. If you ascibe only to the Scriptures and reject the Holy Spirit's power and character, you shall become like stone. If you only move in the spirit and do not balence or analysis it with Scripture (through discipline) it can become intemperate and false spirits can come in trying to imitate the Holy Spirit; this is why you must know the Fruit of the Spirit: &qu

I n the previous post I touched on the problem of seeking acceptance from other people. This post will focus on when we seek acceptance from God. Our need to be accepted and affirmed by other men and women is only matched by the need to receive the same from the Almighty One. How we seek acceptance from the Lord depends on the church circles and teachings we ascribe to. For some the desire to seek acceptance from Christ is nonexistent; they believe that at the Cross of Calvary, our Savior has already accepted us when he bled and said "It is accomplished." In this more Charismatic or spirit filled view, there is no need to strive for acceptance from the Lord. In stark contrast, being accepted by the Jesus is a fundamental tenet in more traditional and liturgical circles of Christianity. For one denomination  in particular, there is an endless treadmill of seeking the forgiveness and acceptance of the Almighty through penance and indulgences. In this frame of faith, followe

We all want to be unconditionally accepted. Each person desires to have their whole selves embraced by another person. The truth however, is that people rarely csn be their absolute selves around others. You will find that even your closest friends and family members can only tolerate or accept parts of who you are. But do not despair! We are in good company. Jesus Christ himself found that people, even his own disciples could not accept Him completely. For when Jesus showed more of himself at the Transfiguration, St. Peter felt compelled to make a church (taberbacles). Peter like so many preachers and pastors today wanted to build a church. Simon wanted to have the Church of the Transfiguration, while in Galilee they might have the Fisherman's Church. The point is that neither was the whole identity and depth of the Son of God. He is both the glorious Transfigured Lord and the humble and loving Galilean.  So often people pigeon hole or compartmentalize each other. Fr

  A new year is upon us. Resolutions and revelry is being planned for 2015. The cyle of celebration will come and end in similiar fashion to last year. Alchole will be in abundance and antics will abound. But as Christians we are not to particupate in such raucous and rotten behavior. So we turn to resolutions. Each person resolves to conquer something in the new year. This has merit, because as followers of Jesus, we should be eliminating bad character and behavior. However, this system is flawed due to the focus being the problem instead of the Problem Solver. Many put losing weight as the resolution they wish to achieve. This probably comes from the festive eating at Thanksgiving and Christmas that tends to add on the pounds. But rather than seek to slim down with diets and exercise, it would do a person good to search their soul and with the Holy Spirit discover the seed that had led to the gained weight. Often we want to deal with symptoms rather than the source of the problem.

There is no day quite as depressing as the day after Christmas. Christians eveywhere feel the pang of having to put away their decorations. Many put off taking down the lights, garland, and other decorations tell after New Year's. But there is no question that on December 26th, the heart and soul of the holiday sinks. Still there is much to celebrate past Christmas. For one, Jesus Christ's birth does not end in Bethelhem. No, our Savior had to make an Exodus to Eygpt. The night following the Nativity Scene, Joseph had another dream where an angel told Him to take the child and his wife Mary to Eygpt. Little did Joseph know, King Herod The Great had ordered his soldiers to lay siege to Bethelehem and kill every newborn child under two (sound familiar? Think Moses). God at the very beginning was being threatened with execution. This should make people think about today's age of abortion. What if Mary was as selfish as the mothers today and decided to abort Jesus?! Do no

 Have you ever been in situation where someone you know must be right? Do you find yourself sharing knowledge, wisdom, and even insight with a person who says they care about you, but they seem disinterested in anything you say; particularly knowledge you know that they don't or achievements? Perhaps you are in active conversation with a friend and instead of acknowledging what you said they change the subject or if they should respond to your sentiments, it is always to seal their authority and claim that you are wrong by citing sources that come from nowhere. Such a person is toxic and they do not care about you. They do not care about you because they do not care about your thoughts or truths in your soul. These kind of people always want to be right and they will go to relentless lengths to ensure they are. The definition for this kind of person is a controller and the person who condones their behavior and stay around them is a codependant. Jesus Christ encounter both k

It is Christmas Eve. We are on the eve of Christmas and that means the celebration of Christ's Birth. Many will commerate the day by waking up during the early hours and taring into gifts. I do not mean to diminish the joy of this tradition. Children opening presents on Christmas Day is something to cherish and everyone should delight in the sight of seeing someone they love open something they have wanted. That being said, it is important for us to not lose focus of what tomorrow means. There are plenty who celebrate Christmas as secular holiday, and enjoy the commercial quality. But as Christians it means so much more and there is a way to honor the Birth of our Savior. Many put out Nativity sets in their homes and have traditions of hiding the Baby Jesus until Christmas Day or they have their children search for the Christ Child on Christmas Day. Another great way to bring the focus of the holiday back to the Holy One, is to read the Chapter One of the Gospel of Luke, which

Suffering produces love. It sounds like paradox, how can suffering produce love? Many troubles tie people close together. When we are afflicted and we find other brothers and sisters in Christ who also are afflicted, we feel connected and our mutual love for Christ passes to one another. Suprisingly, it is the lack of suffering that causes love to grow soft and lose its strength. The more trials and tribulations that tend to us, the closer we become to Christ and our fellow Christians. It is the persecutions and painful experiances that open our hearts to one another. Studies show that the poorest of people who are afflicted with great pain and problems have the greatest love for one another. When I was in Thekarani, South Africa, I saw this first hand. The entire community was poor, as if they were still living in desolate part of the Middle Ages. And yet their love was so great, that it changed my life! I a person from privilege and minimal problems found there in the bush, an a

When there is despair, He is there. The Lord Jesus is near to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). Many today are overwhelmed by the times. Nations are on tilt and the threat of war is ever present. One need only watch the news and the blue feelings set in. What can be difficult in these distressing times is when our spiritual lives feel empty. Despair sets in when a Christian thinks the Lord is far away, when really He is near. Jesus Christ is always with us. No matter how we feel, the Father is watching over us and we need not fear. Yet we feel how we feel. Loss can cause us to lose our patience and even collapse. As Christians we are not to act like everything is alright and put a smile on our faces to convince people of God's love. Jesus said, " blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted " and " you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy (upon my Return)."  (Matthew 5:4, John 16;30

I wrote a blog post titled "Is Jesus Enough?" Never have I been more confronted by that question than today. As friends fall away and finer things lose their allure, I am confronted with the answer. Growing up as a child I had a circle of friends. We had a Round Table if you will and for a time I believed we would be like those knights in King Arthur's court; I imagined our loyalty to one another would last through our life time. But I was confronted with the truth as Camelot began to crumble. One by one friends withdrew their swords from the table and made troubled choices. I found myself down to Lancelot at my left and Gawain at my right. As I watched my friends fall away, I felt not only the grief of losing them, but the grief of watching them forsaking the Lord's plan for their lives. They did not lose their faith, but their choices were not going to sow a deep relationship with Christ or reap good consequences in this life or the next. I am confronted with t

The concept of giving our lives over to Christ is not popular in the church today. The idea of living for Jesus often invokes the images of the Apostles and Medieval Monks and Nuns. While those are examples, living for Jesus Christ in the twenty first century does not require a biblical fishing techniques or a brown habit. If we are to look back in Church history we should look for inspiration and seek to duplicate their devotion. Being a Christian in this century is not without its challenges. It is one thing to become a hermit and live like the monks of old, but to live in this cyber technological world is another. The truth, our times are not so different or distant from the days of the Disciples. Back then Rome ruled and the technology they possessed was advanced and seducing. The Romans built aqueducts, toilets, bath houses, roads, ballista, and other architecture that could not be rivaled. And yet, in such a technological age, people were able to apply their faith in Jesus C

Often what heralds from Hollywood is anything but holy. Most films continue to perpetuate the depravity and deep desire for dark passions. However, occasionally there is good news from the hollowed land of film making. This year there was a major surprise in the film "Fury", starring Brad Pitt and Shia Labouf. Fury is a film about a tank battalion during WWII. Shia Labouf plays a preacher (a surprise in itself) who throughout the entire movie is talking about salvation and quoting the Book of Isaiah. While the film is not perfect morally, the climax has Christian faith as the focus as these battalion in tank led by Brad Pitt fights off the Nazis, knowing that they will certainly die, but save the Allied Forces the enemy army is headed to destroy. What is astonishing is that "Fury" is a mouth piece for the Gospel through Shia Labouf's character and his character (behavior). What is even more exciting is that Shia Labouf has professed that he became a Chris

Many posts are dedicated to the commercialism of Christmas and clearing up the truth meaning of the holiday. The battle between Santa and the Savior: between Christ and Claus rages on. Every year children are taught that Santa Claus will come to their home with gifts and if they are good, he will give them what is on their wish list. All year, children are taught in Sunday school that Jesus Christ is the greatest gift and that He hears their prayers and will answer the desires of their hearts. By now the point I have tried to make regarding this problem is possibly falling into redundancy. But highlighting it does no harm. The fact is that at some point, children discover the fiction that is Santa Claus. What is more alarming is that because they were lied to by their parents about this benevolent man in red coat, they can come to question Christ in his red robe! This is the danger of deceptions, even cute and seemingly harmless ones. They can caste doubt on truths, because the tr

In this life we have two choices. We can either live discernful lives or delusional lives. Each lifestyle comes with a cost package. For those who choose to live a discernful life it will require the death of delusion and suffering. For those who choose the delusional life it will be the death of discernment and false sense of security. Sometimes films illustrate a point better than anything you can read. An example of this is found in The Matrix. The film is about a delusional world created by machines to control humans called the Matrix and the Real World where people are free but must fight the machines. This is the stark reality of our choice in this life. We can either keep deluded in a construct created by the Architect (Fallen Angel) or we can decide to wake up and follow Real Word of God. In the first Matrix, there is poignant scene when Morpheus, a prophet gives the protagonist Neo a chance. In this scene, Morpheus presents Neo will two pills, one is red and the other i

Many people are like Jonah. The prophet who fled from God and found himself in a storm and then in the belly of a great fish. Often we children are told the story of Jonah, they picture a giant whale, but the Bible says a great fish. It could have been Megalodon or some other great behemoth of the sea. In the case of Jonah, He knew the Lord and heard his command to go to Nineveh. The prophet did not like the prospect of going to a Gentile city that was known for its perversion. Many believers are like Jonah, only instead of getting on a ship they get on a sail boat called religion. People who once listened to the Prince of Peace and were filled with His voice and presence, have forsaken it to do as they desire upon their own craft. They decide to flee from the Lord's Will and do their own and label it "for God." These Jonahs soon find themselves swallowed whole by religion's sea monster. There inside the belly of the beast, believers find the acid burn at their