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Showing posts from July, 2017

"Nobody's Perfect, Right?"

The Lord God has chosen the most imperfect people to serve His perfect purposes. I have stated in posts before how Christ's greatest disciples had struggles, that Peter denied Him and Paul was murderer of Christians before he converted on Road to Damascus. The weaknesses and failings of the Lord Jesus Christ's greatest followers helps remind us that we don't have to be perfect to serve the LORD. That being said, every single one of them did not stay imperfect. The Apostle Paul was murderer, but he stopped murdering and spent His life suffering for the Messiah, and helping His people (total change, total turn from his sin, which is what repentance in Greek means, to turn from it, not just say sorry). The Apostle Peter did deny Jesus three times, but He repented and ended up preaching sermon that saved 3,000 souls. Each and every servant of Lord God Trinity did have failings, and weren't perfect, but they strived to change, to be more like Christ. Today, there are sl

Encountering God

There are many programs in the diverse church denominations to try and keep the youth devout. From Vacation Bible School (VBS) in the summers to Movie Nights, the church with great zeal tries to keep young believers from Kindergarten to High School faithful. Other churches employ Catholic School, Catechism, and rigorous teaching of dogmas and doctrines to try and reinforce the faith in young ones. The result of the entertainment and adventure approach of most Evangelical churches and the intellectual and doxological approach of High Churches often helps in short term, but not in long run. The problem is young people are sent off into a world that challenges their beliefs. From college to culture, young Christians find their view of Jesus being only way (John 14:6) assaulted from professors to motion pictures. The heady theology and doxology taught at their Lutheran Church or the VBS experiences are challenged by allure of other experiences in college, and trying to get the Prodigal

Church Branding: The Decline of Evangelicalism

The Evangelical Church is on fast track to disillusion and self destruction. The Evangelical Church began like all good things, trying to be a balance between Bible based (Solae Scriptura) and Spirit Filled (Charisma). It was answer to those who wanted to be Baptists that knew the Bible, and yet have Holy Spirit come into the services with some checks and balances to keep it from getting unruly. Unfortunately, Evangelicalism was hijacked by the Seeker Friendly Movement , started by pastor who went and interviewed people door to door who hadn't been to church in a long time, their answer was they weren't entertained, and their kids weren't having fun (because that's the goal of Christian life, ugh). This transformed the Evangelical Church, which watered down the Gospel, removing the repent part and making people feel comfortable with "feel good sermons" reminiscent of Paul's words, "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and

What Christ is Like

Often in the process of trying to reform, route corruption, and keep people on redeeming path, the Lord can be depicted as a overlord who is stern and harsh. This is mischaracterization of Christ, who said these words, " Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne ." (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus Christ is Gentle God, a loving Savior who gave His life on cross for our sins to be close to us, so that we could come boldly into the holiest place through His blood (Hebrews 10:19) and so that He could live in all Christians (

Temple Mount Turmoil

For the whole week the Temple Mount, Jerusalem Israel has had Palestinians and Hamas placing flags and claiming the territory according to the United Nations ruling that the Temple Mount belongs to the Palestinian State. Yesterday, over one thousand Palestinians (and Hamas) took the Temple Mount en masse and began throwing rocks and stones on Jews at the Wailing Wall (retaining wall, place of worship from the Temple of Herod). I believe this could be the precursor of the Man of Sin (Antichrist) rising to power. According to the Apostle the Man of Lawlessness (Antichrist) must do the following, " Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God ." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). At the Temple Mo

One Way

We are living in a pluralistic, universalistic, and post-modern world that wants people to be politically correct, and say "everyone is right." The pressure to compromise the Gospel, to dilute it to "a way" rather than "The Way" is going to be one of the many measures to determine in this century what a true Christian really is. The truth is plain and simple, there is only One Way to God, One Way to Heaven, One Way to gain eternal life (immorality), and One Way to be holy, that is through Jesus Christ, "Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me ." (John 14:6). The ladder, the stairway to heaven is through Son of Man, Jesus Christ himself, "Then he said, " I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth ." (John 1:51). The way to eternal life, and

The Blame Game

There is a narrative going on, that is pining Radical Islamic Terrorism on Christian Extremists. Madam Secretary , Season 3, starring Tea Leoni features a Christian Radical who helps ISIS make bombs. On yahoo news yesterday, an article featured Radical Christians Terrorists, and equating them to ISIS, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and all the multitudes of Islamic Terrorists. This is a blame game.Sure there have been nuts radicals killing in name of Christ, but the difference is obvious, the radicals Christian's are a minority, and the Christian faith does not teach militancy. Instead the Lord Jesus Christ said, " love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5:44), "my kingdom is not of this world," (John 18:36), and " And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these."

Chanson de Geste pour l'Apocalypse

I often wonder if in coming years I will say to young children around camp fire, "there was a time when you could buy a Bible in any bookstore or download one on to your phones for free, there was a time when you could wear a cross and people smiled, or there was time when there where Christian empires such as the Byzantines, The Crusaders, and The Colonials." With persecution on the rise I believe that we will be telling next generation of Christ followers such tales that they will look in wonder upon shields with crosses from Middle Ages, hymns from the Reformation, and stills of Christian TV stations like TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) and CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) before the Beast took over. Perhaps we will even have to describe to these young impressionable minds what a cathedral was, and how there were once Nativity and Good Friday processions in public, instead of hidden vigils we now have. Will they believe us when we tell them of the magnificent str