The Source

Who, exactly, is Jesus Christ? Why is His name the source of such controversy? Why do governments forbid the use of His name? Why are we told not to pray in His name? Why does the name of Jesus Christ evoke such a strong response?

Jesus Christ is the The Way, The Truth and The Life. (John 14:6)

The Way: There is no other way to Heaven apart from Christ Jesus. He is the only way. That is a very controversial thing to say these days. Other religions teach that there are many ways. Some say that it is unreasonable to teach that there is only one way, and a narrow way at that. But this is what Jesus and the Apostles teach. (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12)

The Truth: I think we, as human beings, naturally react with hostility toward truth. Truth brings to light things that we don't want to acknowledge and things we don't want seen. Who among us wants anyone else to be able to hear the deepest thoughts or able to peer into the darkest recesses of the mind? The light of truth is something that we naturally recoil from. John the Baptist and a Christian named Stephen are two people who come to mind when I think of how people react to truth. (Mark 6:17-28 and Acts 7:54-58)

The Life: John 1:1-4. Jesus is life. We have heart beats and breath in and out because of Him. He is the source of all life, and all life is sustained in Him (Colossians 1:15-17). In Him is eternal life (John 3:16).

So, who is Jesus? He is the Source. He is the Source of all meaning, all knowledge, all of existence. In Christ Jesus alone is our salvation.

God is AWESOME!

Tapping Out

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17)


There are some fleshly appetites and urges that are very strong. Sometimes the urges become so persistent that it just seems easier to give in than to try to fight it any more. (Romans 7:15)

I know that when I give in to my flesh, I feel guilty and ashamed to talk to God about it. After a while, it's easier to give in again. The guilt and shame grows, so does the distance that I put between myself and God. Soon, I'm drifting farther and farther away. My mind is more and more on the things of the world and not on the things of God.

Soon, even if I want to turn back, it is hard. Sin has taken root in my mind and in my heart. It has given the enemy a foot hold. I willingly put the broken chains back on. (Genesis 4:7)

I could hear the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit reminding me that the chains wrapped around me were, in fact, broken. They no longer had any real power. I was once and forever free from sin. (Jeremiah 31:11) There was no need to feel guilty or ashamed. My loving Father was waiting with open arms, ready to forgive me. (Romans 8:1, Luke 15:11-24, Jude 1:24)

Father, thank You that You are merciful and that Your word says that You are faithful and just to forgive me when I confess my sins to You. (1 John 1:9)
Thank You for a clean heart.

God is AWESOME!

Your Mission...(should you choose to accept it)

I've been thinking a lot lately about my purpose or function in the body of Christ. Every one of us, as believers, has been given a specific purpose. (1 Corinthians 12:12-18)

I teach a Sunday School class at church, and the more I teach the class, the the more convinced I am that teaching is not where I'm gifted.

So...I've been thinking about where my place is in the body. Our wise Father has given every member of the body a specific purpose. A purpose that is helpful in growing the body and moving it forward.

I believe I have been given a talent for writing. I have always (since I have learned to read and write, anyway) been able to express my thoughts and emotions in writing far better than I can speak them. When I write, I can express a thought or idea exactly the way it is in my mind. When I speak, something happens when the thought goes through the filter between my mind and my vocal chords.

Some of the most intimate times I have had with our Father, the most meaningful communion with the Holy Spirit, was when I was writing. The most intense worship, when I have felt His presence the strongest has been when I was writing. There have been times when words of worship were flowing out of my fingertips and spilling out onto my keyboard. Sometimes I will start to write something and the Holy Spirit will reveal more deeply to me Who He is, and as I write, I will weep tears of joy and awe.

I love those times. I have never been to a praise and worship service or a concert where the worship is more intense for me than it is when I write.

I believe that when God created me, He put this in me. He gave me this compulsion to write down my thoughts and ideas. I will use it for His glory. Even if it is on this little blog. One day, He may decide to speak to the world through me, or maybe He just wants to speak to you right now.

For the masses or for just one or two people. For His glory, I will write.

Recommended Reading

Just a quick post to say that I highly recommend John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress'.

It's not an easy read (at least not for me), but it is a very meaningful one.

The main character is a guy named Christian. It's the story of his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

Feel free to put any other recommended reading in the comments section.

Thanks!

Jots and Tittles; Semantics and Splitting Hairs

People are funny.

We (I say we because I think all of us do this) will try to make things that are written and things people say mean what we want them to mean and not what they actually mean.

Take the bible, for example. There are groups of people who will make the scriptures mean whatever they want them to mean by taking things out of context. And some will even try to make it say things that aren't even there.

Others say that some teachings in the bible aren't relevant for today. Those people are wrong. Everything the bible teaches is completely relevant, always.
(Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 1:25)

I know some who say that it makes them feel more comfortable to refer to God as a 'she'. Nowhere in the bible can you find that it even almost means that God is female. Every time God is referred to in the Hebrew and in the Greek, the word is for the masculine gender, not the feminine. God, as my friend Mark pointed out, is called Father. He is referred to as a Great King. Both Masculine.

Other groups try to make the bible say that believers should not drink alcohol at all. I have even heard some say that where 'wine' is mentioned in the bible, it means grape juice.

I did a little research on this. In Numbers 6:1-21, the law of the Nazirite is spelled out. In this law, there is a section that differentiates between wine and grape juice (Numbers 6:3).
The Apostle Paul even recommends drinking a little wine (1 Timothy 5:23), suggesting that it is good for digestion and for your general health.

The list goes on. My point is that, if you are going to call yourself a 'Christian', then you need to get over yourself and pay attention to what God is actually saying. Advance His agenda, not yours.

Groanings Too Deep For Words

My friend Larry died yesterday.

It was sudden and unexpected. If you are reading this, stop now and pray for Larry's wife and family.

I never know what to say when I get the news that someone I know has died. Usually, anything I say will only make things awkward.

I have known Larry for a good many years. We didn't get to spend time together as often as I would have liked, but the time that we did spend together was wonderful. Larry was one of those rare people that gave you the feeling that you had always known him, even if you had just met.

My wife met him for the first time a few years ago when he and his wife came for dinner at our house. She instantly loved him.

It is sometimes an overwhelming feeling when searching for the words to speak to the families of those who have passed when words are far too clumsy a thing to express the cries of the heart. I can pray for them, but there too, words are not enough.

The Apostle Paul offers some comforting words in his letter to the believers in Rome.
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (Romans 8:26)

Larry Oden was a dearly loved brother in Christ and a great man.

Love Or Lies

I once said to God, "I love you."

Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to say to God. I mean, He is our Father, after all. The only problem is that God doesn't view "I love you." as casually as we often do. (Isaiah 29:13)

Jesus answered me before I ever said it. He answered me before I ever existed.
He said that if I loved Him, I would do what He says. (John 14:15)

He gave a commandment to us before He left. He said that we should love each other so that the whole world would know who we are. (John 13:34-35)

I've been learning a hard lesson. I've been learning that love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. It is an act of will. We are emotional creatures with a fallen nature. We often cannot control how we feel about certain things or toward individuals. A choice, a conscious effort, has to be made to love someone.

It is very difficult in our current circumstances to love certain people who make it difficult to love them. There are people who will go out of their way to embarrass others in front of people in order to make themselves look smart or witty. Then there are those who think they know everything. We all know people like these.

When I say "...our current circumstances..." I mean our state of mind. We must guard our minds continuously. We must don the helmet of salvation and hold high the shield of faith. (Genesis 4:7, Galatians 5:17)

We are at war. People often talk about spiritual warfare as if it is a metaphor for some of life's challenges. Make no mistake...it is real. The way wars are won is by taking away the enemy's will to fight. Don't let that happen to you. Stay on guard. Trust in the strength of the Holy Spirit to help you love that person.

There is a lesson that I learned from reading about an incident involving the Apostle Paul and his friend Barnabas and Barnabas' cousin John Mark.
In a nut shell, Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over John Mark.
(Acts 13:13, Acts 15:37-39)

Paul, it seems, didn't care for John Mark. But there is a really neat progression through Paul's letters. He got over it, and made the decision to love John Mark anyway. (Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11)

Be careful about the condition of your heart before you say "I love you." to God. John warns us about doing that. (1 John 2:9, 1 John 4:20) This is the lesson I've been learning.

Father, help me to obey you. Help me to love others with a pure heart so that I can tell you that I love you.