Forgiveness, What's it all about?

What is forgiveness?

I believe that there are 6 distinct parts to Forgiveness.

1. We desperately need it! It is a very urgent need. Romans 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one."

2. God doesn't just forgive our unrighteousness, He makes us Righteousness!
It is credited or transferred to our account! Romans 4:3 "What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ

3. It is a gift given to us by the Grace of God. Not by works so that no one can boast.
1 Corinthians 1:28-31 "He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"

4. Through forgiveness we are Redeemed in Christ.
Only through Christ can we receive redemption. One of the easiest ways of describing redemption is this: Imagine you are a slave. One day a man comes to your owner and asks to purchase you. You think great, now I have to work for this guy! Once the deal is done and the man takes you away from you former owner, he turns to you and says, "You are free, I have purchased your freedom."
This is the very thing that Christ did upon the cross. He gave up His life and took upon Himself all of our sin, past, present, and future. He, with His own life, His Blood, has purchased our lives and offered us freedom from sin and the devil. We just need to accept it.

5. He also offers us Propitiation in His Blood.
This means that through the Blood of Christ peace is made between us and God. God is Holy, perfect, Morally Pure, and Just. We are sinners and deserve the just punishment of Hell. But through the Blood of Christ and the finished work of the cross, God has made peace with us. Through Christ were are offered, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Through Christs Blood we are made clean.

6. All of this comes through Faith. In Christ!
A. We come to a knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for us. This comes in many different ways, but is always accompanied by a knock at the door of our hearts.
B. We choose to believe or reject that knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for us. Like the saying from Riplys, "Believe it or Not."
C. If we choose to believe all that we have found out, then there comes commitment. Many, Many people stop at B. but the commitment is were the real joy and fulfillment of the Christian Faith comes in. We commit our lives to Christ and His purposes. We devote our lives to serving Christ.

I like to think about this phrase throughout my day: "What right do you have to enter My Heaven!"
That is such a great question and we must all answer it! What right do we have to enter into God's Heaven?"
I like also to think of my response:
I can do nothing to please you, God. Based on my life, I don't have any right to enter Your Heaven! But, Christ died for me and not only that, He was raised on the 3rd day and assented into Heaven to sit at your right hand, for me. I believe this with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. This is the only bases on which I would even dare to enter Your Heaven. I am not worth, I deserve the eternal punishment of Hell. But, I thank you for the wonderful gift of Your Son and in His name, Jesus Christ, I humbly ask that I may spend eternity with You in Heaven.

Thank you Jesus for the wonderful Grace gift of Forgiveness!

Our Relationship with Christ

Yesterday was about God in pursuit of us. Today we are also in pursuit of God.

John 15
Jesus calls Himself the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in Him, He will remain in us. He says that we will know the branches by the fruit they bear and he calls the branches that bear good fruit and keep His commands friends. Not slaves, rather friends.
It is a wonderful chapter and I cannot do it justice without quoting it, and that would take a very long time to do. Please read it!

On to Philippians 3 (please read this also)
Paul does 4 things in his relationship with Christ that we all should do.
1. He Trusts Christ Exclusively
2. He Values Christ supremely
3. He Pursues Christ Whole-Heartedly
4. He awaits Christ Expectantly

1. Trusting in Christ
Paul in vs. 2 warns us to beware evildoer's
In vs. 3 Paul takes Glory only in Christ, Paul would have more reason than anyone to put faith in his flesh, but in vs 8-11 Paul states "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
John Piper puts it this way "Nothing in my hands I bring, Only to the Cross of Christ I Cling."
Paul also says something very interesting in Galatians 5:2-6
"Look: I Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage (some translations say "benefit") to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love."

We can count on nothing or trust in nothing but Christ.

2. Value Christ Supremely
Back to Philippians 3:7+8
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."
There is nothing, nothing more important to Paul than Jesus! He has counted everything as loss compared to Christ.
Pslam 34:3 "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!"

Christ needs to be first in our lives.

3. Pursue Christ Whole-Heartedly
Paul even though when writing this he is maybe 4-5 years from his death says something profound! Philippians 3:12 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."
Paul pursues Christ in the very same way and with the same zeal that he when he was called Saul pursued Christians.
3:13-16 "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.l But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and staining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained."

Christ is to be the pursuit of our lives.

4. Await Christ Expectantly
In vs 20 + 21 Paul says, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."
We are but aliens living in a foreign land. Our home is Heaven and from Heaven we wait for Christ.

We need to be ready for and waiting for Christ.

God is after our hearts, but we also need to pursue God. Relationships are two way!
God wants to know me (not that he doesn't already know me), He wants to sit down with me and talk about my desires and what I want to do in life. In return I also want to sit down with God and know His Heart, what He is after and how I can be of service to Him, in any way! He wants to know everything about me, and I want to know everything about Him!

Lets make God our top priority and pursue His Heart!

God in Pursuit

I have known this, but for some reason it has really been on my mind and ingrain itself more and more into who I am. It is a simple fact really, but it has been having a huge impact on my life the past couple of days. What is it you might be asking? Well, the fact that I am wanted, loved, pursued. God is in pursuit of me! He loves me, care about me, wants to know me for who I really am.
I read through the Bible and I stand amazed! It is a beautiful love letter. God created everything and pronounced it all as good. Adam and Eve were sinless and in complete communion with God. Then came the fall. We as Christians often forget this, we talk about how depraved the human race is without God (and it is) but we forget where we came from. We were created in the image of God, or as John Eldredge says in The Sacred Romance, "or more precisely, as a reflection of the Trinity." God is relational and so are we.
We run in fear of being found out in life. Everyone to an extent is afraid of deep intimacy. Really opening up ones heart to another and being completely vulnerable. Men run from their strength, thinking that they don't have what it takes. Women run from their beauty, not wanting to believe that they are the most beautiful woman in the world to someone. This is precisely what God is pursuing. He wants men to live in their strength and fight for an intimate relationship with Him. As men we must realize that our strength is not our own, it is God's strength and He wants us to stand up for Him, for His Church the Body of Christ, and for our wives, children, family and friends. He wants woman to live in their beauty.
"Lady Julian of Norwich was given a series of revelations into the sufferings of Christ and the glory of the gospel. She was taken into the heart of God and upon her return she concluded quite simply, 'We are his lovers.' The bridal imagery often fails to capture a man's heart, but consider: God is neither male nor female. Both genders together are needed to reflect his image and he transcends them both." The Sacred Romance
As we grow up, we formulate who we are based on the feedback of others. The question, "Who am I?" Is answered by another question, "Who am I to _______?" Fill in the blank with, your best friend, your parents, your boy/girlfriend, your wife/husband. This is how we formulate who we are. When we gain acceptance we cling to it and try to make that a part of who we are. When we get frowned upon we try to cut that out of our lives.
But I think the question we should be asking is, "Who am I to God?" Who has God created me to be? God tells me that I am:
1. Clay and He is the Potter: He moulds who I am.
2. A sheep and He is the Shepherd: guiding the way so I don't become lion food.
3. A Servant and He is the Master: I am welcome in the house
4. His child and He is my Father: I am a part of His family -- intimacy
5. His friend and He is my friend: This has the capability of offering more intimacy than Father and son.
6. His beloved and He is mine: This is the most intimacy that any relationship can offer.
God knows exactly who He has created us to be and He wants to tell us. If we would just let Him pursue us He would tells us! Who am I in God's eyes? I am His beloved and He pursues me everyday. Like a man and a woman getting to know each other during their engagement and marriage.
I am not what the world says I am! I am what God says I am!
I am my beloved's and He is mine!
Always <>< and Forever
David

It's a good thing that was not it!

So, NYC was great!
One really cool thing that we did was stop in at the Living Room. www.livingroomsi.com
We got to Worship and listen to a message! It was awesome to see what God is doing in NYC!
The message was about starting a fire for God in your heart. God had Joseph store up grain in Egypt for a famine, and we need to store up love in our hearts because a famine is coming. In the last days (I don't know when they will come and I'm not predicting anything) many will fall away and their hearts will grow cold. It was a good reminder that we need Love and that God is the only one who can offer true love, and we must store it up in our hearts!

Alright, on to the post for the day.

He lives, He lives! Jesus lives! He is Alive!!!!

My last post was about Jesus death on the cross. It has been there for 1 day short of a week. Wouldn't be kind of scary if that was were it all ended? All of Jesus' teachings during His 3 year ministry and then.....nothing. He just died. It would be very difficult for me to believe a lot of what He taught. But, as the title of this post says, It's a good thing that was not it!
Luke 24:36-53
'While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see, a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Laws of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.'
There are many other places in the Bible where Jesus appeared to people, once even a group of 5,000, after He had died on the cross and was buried.
This is the power of the Good News, the Gospel! Buy becoming disciples of Jesus and giving our lives to Him, we will share not only in His sufferings, but in His resurrection.
Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, we too shall be raised to everlasting life with Him.
Thank you Jesus, Thank you!!!
David

My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?

This will most likely be my last post this week as I am off the Big Apple NYC for a short vacation and to visit my friend Ken....www.kenvsthecity.blogspot.com

This was written 28 generations before Jesus was born. Being that Friday is Good Friday (the day Jesus died upon the Cross) I thought it would be nice to look at Psalm 22.

"1. My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2. O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
3. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8. 'He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him for he delights in him!'
9. Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13. they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15. my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet ---
17. I can count all my bones --- they stare and gloat over me;
18. they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19. But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
21. Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22. I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24. For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
25. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
27. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
28. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
29. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31. they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Matthew 27:46 Jesus is on the cross and he shouts out, "'Eli, Eli, lema sabachtnai?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?'"
Jesus just quoted the first line of Pslam 22 (above), this is not to ask the question, but most people memorized scripture in those days and they would have immediately gone back to this Psalm of David, read it again....doesn't it bear a strong resemblance to the crucifixion? If you don't see it, read through the ends of the gospels, Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 18-21.
Psalm 22 though David didn't realize it, was a prophesy that the Messiah would have to fulfill. And to think that the reason why Jesus was put to death was because He claimed that He was the Messiah. You would think that the High priests and officials would want to do everything they could to make sure that this prophesy wouldn't happen, but, it did!
until next time, most likely Monday!
In Him,
David

What is it all about?

Isaiah 26:8
"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your truth, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

This one verse from Isaiah can pretty much sum up what we are here on this earth to do. That is, to give God the Glory for everything!
"Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."
Renown: The quality of being widely honored and acclaimed; fame.
Name: Exodus 3:14 "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
This "I AM" is the present tense of the verb 'to be'.
God calls Himself 'I AM', in the past, present and future, He is 'I AM'!
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
Jesus is stating that He is "I AM".

Revelation 22:1-16
The Chapter talks about seeing Jesus at the end. Jesus is coming back and vs 4 "They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads."

We are here to Glorify God, to Praise His Holy Name, He is seated upon the Thrown and will come again in Power. Our lives are all about Jesus. Whether we choose to accept it or not,
It is all about Jesus!

David

Thorns

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
"So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that is should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

There are times in our lives where something happens or something goes wrong, our "Thorns", and you just wonder why. You ask God to remove this thing from your life and it seems to get worse. It hurts to go through these things and it seems that God isn't helping any. But what is really going on? "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." We are at our weakest state when we are afflicted by our "thorns." We pray and pray and pray, are we not drawing closer to God? This is what God desires for us to lean fully on His strength! Yes, He loves us, but this "Thorn" is actually helping us to draw nearer to God!
Rather than as for its removal, Thank God for allowing the thorn to be in your life to draw you into a closer relationship. If you are persecuted, insulted, running into hard time, turn you eyes toward heaven let Christ do what he does best, give you strength to get through! We can't live this life on our own, we must learn to lean on Him.
Welcome the "Thorns" with thanks to God! Know that you are going to draw into a closer relationship with Him and Praise His Holy Name! Thank you Jesus!
In Christ,
David

It's Personal

I would like to make a distinction between Religion and Faith.

Religion:

1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
3. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
4. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
5. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

Faith:

1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
often Faith Christianity.
4. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith. (I don't like this one, you can have faith in a system, but the system itself isn't faith)
6. A set of principles or beliefs.

or

Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

There are those that would call themselves Christians because they go to a Christian Church, they pray, they are nice people. But if that is all it is, doing things that are considered Christian, this is Religion.
The Christian Faith however is more than just doing things that look or sound Christian. It is having a Relationship with Jesus Christ. Loving the Creator of the Universe, the Lover of our Souls!
Romans 3:10,23 "There is no one righteous, not even one;.....for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 10:8-9 "But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with you mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him (Christ) from the dead, you will be saved.'"

How can a person say and believe this in their heart, without having a personal relationship, without loving Jesus Christ. It is impossible, it cannot be done.

Religion is a set of Rules to be followed and things to be done so that we can gain entrance into heaven/eternal life. Look at every major religion....you have to do things to earn your salvation.

True Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, He has commanded things of His followers, but His followers do these things out of Love and Respect for their Lord and Savior. Jesus would love them just the same if they didn't follow all the commands. Also as stated above, there is no one who can keep the commands...."All have sinned." But it is Love and Faith (Trust) that what Jesus did on the cross (dying for the sins of everyone), and rising again 3 days later was for us. And this trust in Jesus is credited to us as righteousness. We choose to accept the free gift by following Christ or we choose to reject the gift and try to earn our way into heaven (religion).

Faith is hard, religion is easy. But what are the best things in this world? Are they not the things worth fighting for? Relationships are hard because we must fight through differences, but the rewards from relationships far outweigh the injuries from the fight.

Fight for your Relationship with Christ, Fight for your Faith!

In Christ,
David

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

There you have it!

Let's take some time and break it down!

1. Jesus has all the Authority in Heaven and on Earth. It was given to Him, not that He didn't already have it.
2. Go and make disciples is the First command....go and tell others about me, I called you to follow me, now you go call others in the same way! Tell the World who I am, Tell them that I am the Christ and if they choose to follow me as you did then.....
3. Baptizing them in the Name of the Trinity.....Once they make the choice to follow me, baptize them with the Trinity (baptism of Spirit) then......
4. Teach them all that I have commanded.....If they accept me and are baptized in Spirit, teach them all of my commands that they may follow me.
5. I will always be with you, you have no need to fear!

This is so Awesome, Christ right here told us exactly how evangelism works!
People need to choose to follow, be baptized in Spirit, then learn all they can about what God has chosen to reveal to us through His Son, and His written Word!

AMAZING!!!!!!

Ethics?

One more thing today!

Last night a few friends and I went to a Christian vs. Atheist debate if God is needed for ethics.
My friend Joel pointed out that the atheist always complimented people as to how healthy minded they were and was always encouraging others in themselves. Now encouraging others to find strength in themselves is not wrong, but we cannot depend upon ourselves, our history proves that we will fail!
This man also stated that his definition of ethics was the avoidance of harm.
Here are a few dictionary definitions I have found at www.dictionary.com
1. A set of principles of right conduct.
2. A theory or a system of moral values: “An ethic of service is at war with a craving for gain”
3. Motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
4. Ethics (used with a sing. Verb) The study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral philosophy.
I found no definition that was remotely close to avoiding harm. All definitions had to do with what was right and what was wrong.
He also made the statement that humans are nothing but animals. Well, wild animals don't know right or wrong unless they are taught what is right and wrong. So who or what taught us that killing someone was wrong?
Also, my friend Glen made a good point. If faith helps people to lead a better life, and this guy is all about avoiding harm, why is he going around trying to destroy peoples faiths? Isn't this causing harm?
I just want to Give God the Glory, He is the creator and all will answer to Him when He comes again in Glory and Power.
Dave

How Great Thou Art!

O Lord, my God!
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout
the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art, How great Thou Art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think
that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die,
I scarve can take it in;
That on the cross,
my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come
with shout of acclamation
And take me home,
what joys shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
in humble adoration
And there proclaim,
my God, How great Thou Art!

Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art, How great Thou Art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art, How great Thou Art!
How great Thou art, How great Thou Art!

This Hymn has it! God is Holy, set apart creator of everything. And we fall short. But God sent His Son that if we would only believe in our hearts and confess with our lips that Jesus Christ is Lord, we can spend all of eternity in Heaven with Him! My God, How Great Thou Art!
Thank you Jesus!

Accountability? What for?

I have come to understand the importance of having an accountability partner in my life. I was introduced to accountability through discipleship, but I had never seen any verses in the Bible that told me this is what I should do, that is until today!
2 Corinthians 11:28-29 ESV "28And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?"
Hebrews 3:13 ESV "13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
In 2 Cor 11:28-29 Paul is saying that the enemy is attacking Him through all the churches that he cares for. The enemy is attacking those churches and leading them astray, and Paul is concerned for them.
In Hebrews 3:13 the author is telling us that we are going to be attacked daily and that we should meet with others daily and engage in battle with others to help protect us!
This is so very true, the enemy is going to attack us constantly! What makes us think that we can go for extended periods of time without guarding ourselves? If you were in a war (and you are) would you ever loose track of where you weapon was? If you were sleeping in a fox hole, where would your gun be? Why do you think they call it a sidearm?
We must always be on guard! Paul says it this way, " 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
If you went down to Guantonimo Bay in Cuba, and you walked around inside of that military base, you would feel a sense of safety. Why? Because there are numerous guards posted all around the base to protect everyone within!
The only problem with applying this is that we are not at a military base, we are out in the open battlefield where the enemy can sneak up and attack unsuspectingly! This is why the military breaks down into small units. Those men protect each other!
Accountability is the exact same thing, except we must open our hearts to our fellow warriors, our friends. We must be vulnerable with them and they with us.
You may say, "Yeah, but they are going to fail me!" True, but you are also going to fail them at some point. In these times we must lean on Christ all the more. Christ is our First Accountability partner! People keep each others relationship with Christ accountable! If one stumbles the other picks them up and they continue on in the fight.
It is very tough to do, but if done with complete vulnerability the rewards and the relationship with the other person and with God are so incredible!
Take the risk, keeping in mind that people will let you down, but if you are truly seeking God and giving Him the Glory, He will be Faithfull and lift you up. " 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
Dave

What's Important

Many people walk through this life and they don't really know what is the most important thing! For some, it's all about money. Others, stuff! Yet others, work! I just being optimistic, there are those people who live their lives on a quest for things that I will not take the time to write out. However some people are near what is most important, they focus on their relationships with family and friends. I would like to suggest that the most important thing that we can seek after (next to Christ of course) is our own hearts! Not out of selfishness, but out of love.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23
Christ makes His home in our hearts! Let me for a moment compare the heart to a house.
Christ comes to the door and knocks. We answer and welcome Him in. We ask Him to sit and stay for dinner. As we leave to prepare dinner, He begins to look around and check things out. We come back and see Jesus "snooping around" and ask Him not to do that. After dinner, you invite Jesus to spend the night, you prepare a room for Him to sleep in and show Him where the bathroom is, and then you both head off to bed. When you wake up in the morning you smell coffee (or if you are like me and don't like coffee, maybe tea?). You wonder, what is Jesus doing. You rush downstairs to find Jesus has already made your favorite breakfast for you. After breakfast you have to go to work (or school) and tell Jesus that he can stay, but he can't go into certain rooms in your house. When you get back, you find all the rooms that Jesus was allowed to go in spotless. You are amazed and feel a little guilty that you didn't keep it that clean. As time passes, Jesus keeps asking to be allowed into these rooms that you have not allowed Him into before. They are so dirty, so messy, you don't want Jesus to see what is in there, you just want to keep it to yourself! (Incase you haven't figured it out, these rooms are our deepest darkest secrets, the ones that none knows except for us) Finally after years of living with you, Jesus comes to you and pleads to be let into those rooms. You understand that it is only out of love that Jesus comes to you, but you don't want Him to see it. You reluctantly let Him in and immediately the shame hits. You fall to your knees and ask for His forgiveness, you offer to help Him clean, but He says, "No, this is my job! You stay with me and let me do the work. It will come to an end, it will be painful to go through all of this, but you must stay with me and let me work." You sit there ask Jesus goes through your whole life, everything! Then after what seems like it was months, Jesus comes over and puts His hand on your shoulder and says, "Look, All clean, you are spotless, may I make this my home and reside with you?"
What do you do at this point? You have 2 options! 1. Well, on second thought, I really liked it the way it was, but thanks for cleaning it. See you later. Or 2. Yes Lord, take it all, I give my whole home to you. It is yours!
Christ wants our hearts to be clean and HE is the only one that can clean them, but we must let Him do it!
"And the Lord said: 'Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden." Isaiah 29:13-14
We need to come before God with our hearts! Head knowledge is good, we need that to understand what God is trying to tell us, but we must come to Him with our hearts!
"For although they knew God (head knowledge), they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him (no heart), but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:21-25
One last thing on this....Where does love come from?
I believe that it comes from the heart, we cannot love another if we have not love in our heart.
Jesus gave us two Great commandments...."Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and the second is like it, Love you neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:26-28
Just think about how many expressions we have that deal with the heart: Heartless, Have a heart, heartaches, brokenhearted, bravehearted, blackhearted, hearts of gold, heart-to-heart, lighthearted, my heart's just not in it, and we love with all of our hearts.
I like how Brent Curtis puts it in The Sacred Romance, "For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart."
Let Jesus set your hearts free, free to live a full life, free to love!
Dave

What's in an Army?

We all know what an army is! It is an uncountable number of men (and women) who come together with some kind of weapons, to fight an opponent.
For the Romans, they wore shining armor, many road horses, they used shining swords, spears, bows and arrows, and catapults.
For the British, they had bright red coats, muskets, horses, cannons, mighty ships, and forts.
For the U.S., we have camo uniforms, dress uniforms, guns, swords, cannons, missiles, rockets, nukes, jet fighters, bombers, tanks, ships, subs, you name it, we have it.
We have all of this stuff, but what happens when we leave our secured land, and go into enemy territory?
Everything gets broken down into small squads, companies, platoons! Watch Top Gun, they only send up two fighters at a time, if one gets shot down, only one more is sent in. In Tears of the Sun, a small squad of elite men are sent in to rescue 4 people and end up with an entire village!
This is how it has always worked! The only time that a large force meets another large force is at boarder lines. Watch Saving Private Ryan! They hit the beach head and wham, all out war!!! But as the allies push their way through, they start breaking up into smaller groups. Then a group of 8 men are sent behind enemy lines to find another lost soldier.
Here is my point!
It is this very same thing that we Must Implement into our spiritual lives!
We are at war! We were born into it. What we do on Sunday mornings, what we call going to church, that is like our headquarters. When we leave there, we must not go alone! We have to have our "Band of Brothers" to watch each others backs.
If we do go it alone, we cannot withstand the enemy.
Jesus even had the 12!
The Church of God is one large army. But, what makes an army so strong while in battle is what the soldiers are fighting for. They are fighting for each other! In physical war they are fighting for the lives of the men all around them, they know each other by name, they know each others stories. They are friends and they don't want their friends to die. In spiritual war, we are fighting for the hearts of our friends! The people that we know intimately, we know their stories, what they struggle with, where they came from. We want to protect their hearts, because they are precious to us.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23
"The enemy fears you -- Fears you heart's coming fully alive, full and free. Caring for your heart is an act of obedience. It is an act of love, and act of Faith, and act of War!" John Eldredge
It is a very tough thing to make yourself vounerable, the enemy makes sure of it! But, when we release our hearts to God, and to "A few Good Men", our hearts will seek the Glory of God. They will come fully alive and make us into the most feared men by the enemy!
I pray that if you would read this, that you would consider finding "A few Good Men" to walk through these battle fields with. Protect each other, help each other, and Fight for each other.
"The Glory of God is man fully alive." Saint Irenaeus
In Him,
David Blissett

The Power of Prayer

I have always heard that pray is powerful, but I had never really experienced it, that is until recently!
I have been a constant pray'er, I pray while I walk down the street, before I eat, when I'm in the car. Yet I had never really seen the prayers get answered. So I just kept prayin' and prayin'!
This past weekend, a buddy of mine held a prayer party and asked me to do some worship music at it. There were only 3 of us there, but it was the best time and most refreshing time of prayer that I have ever experienced! We prayed and sang for 3 1/2 hours before we ran out of things to pray, we could have kept going (well at least I could have!)
Through this time of prayer God has totally been faithful, drawing me closer to Himself and conforming me more and more into the "Image of God" that humanity was originally created in.
What I have learned is that constant prayer is Great! We should continue to pray constantly, but the Quality of prayer is also very important!
Quantity vs. Quality! Both are needed! I believe that it is very important to pray constantly, but we should also set aside specific times throughout the month to get into some deep prayer! Healing Prayer! Taking an hour once a week to pray for healing of our own hearts and drawing ever closer to Christ will be very beneficial.
My challenge for myself as well as anyone who reads this would be:
1 time a week take 1 hour and pray for healing and God to fill our lives with His unsurpassible joy.
Go ahead, try it! See what happens!
We live in world at war, we need to become true warriors, Prayer Warriors!
David Blissett

Walking with the Spirit

I just would like to share how awesome it is to walk with the Spirit of God.

That last couple of weeks, I have enjoyed God's presence in my life like never before! There is such freedom when we align our wants and desires for our lives with what God's wants and desires are for our lives. Also knowing who we are and how we were created helps a lot.

I have found a one word mission statement for my life! You may agree based on these writings or how well you know me! This one word is: Exhorter

I am all about God's Truth. When I see that there is a lie, I will call it out and speak the Truth! This is how God has designed me. Now that I see this, and know that it is from Him, I have no reason to hold back this wonderful gift.
There are many more things that God has worked into me from conception as well as from conversion that also help me to know who I am, but I will talk about those later!
God has a wonderful plan for each and everyone of our lives, and when we see this and say, "Yes Lord that is what I want for my life with you." He blesses us so much through that decision and fills our lives with such joy!

Last night, I was invited to a leadership time at church. I did feel a little uncomfortable, but it was a lot of fun. The comment was made that I was smiling really big after I had said something, and someone else said, "He's been smiling the whole night." To which I replied, "I'm just totally filled right now." (as in, with the Holy Spirit)
It was so true, and it was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. I was so filled with joy in God, that I couldn't hold it back, it was just bubbling out of me!
All I can say is, "Thank you Jesus!"

Have a wonderful day and God Bless you all!

Dave

Onward Christian Soldiers!

Why is it that most Christian's live there lives like they are not at war?
In his book Waking the Dead, John Eldredge uses this excerpt from a Bible that he was studying, he wanted to know what the Hebrew meaning behind "the Lord Almighty" was;
"Because for most readers today the phrased 'the Lord of hosts' and 'God of hosts' have little meaning, this version renders them 'the Lord Almighty', and 'God Almighty.' These renderings convey the sense of the Hebrew, namely, 'he who is sovereign over all the 'hosts' (powers) in heaven and on earth, especially over the 'hosts' (armies) of Israel."
God is the God of the armies of Israel. But, even better than that, He is the God of Angel Armies! Why is God being the Commander and Chief of Angel Armies so important?
You only have the need for an army if you are at war!
God is at War!
Christians, being a part of God's family, are also a part of this war! In fact we are the targets of the enemy in this war! (I saw this cartoon once, "How birds see the world." Every person had a target on their head.) These people with targets on their heads are us, and the birds are the enemy. Satan has that Children of God locked and targeted.
"It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons." -William Gurnall
Have you ever had something go wrong and then you hear this little voice that most times you just think it is yourself, but it is the enemy saying, "you aren't any good, you can't do this." See this for what it truly is,
An Attack at your heart, your very soul, from the enemy! It has one purpose and that is to stop you from being the who you were created to be!
The enemy knows that if you are allowed to reach your full potential that you would be devastating, instead of the cowering guy in the movie Gladiator who actually wets himself before a battle, you have the potential to be Maximus, to step onto the battlefield and know without a doubt that you will win, you cannot be stopped!
Fight for your heart, don't believe the lies that the enemy hurls at you! Your worth in God's eyes in more than anyone could ever imagine!
Ask God, "Who am I to you?" "Am I your Maximus?"
He will say, "Yes, you are my beloved, You are my General and I fight for you!"
Put on the full armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18 and fight for you hearts!
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the ruler, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12
Dave

A living Testimony

First of all what is a Testimony?
I believe it has 3 parts...
1. I was a sinner, confession of sins
2. Christ has forgiven me and made me a new person
3. I am living in freedom from sin, because of Christ

To confess really means to say with. Say and with? Well we say our sins, but where does with come it? This is the part where we agree with God, we say along with God, Yes, I am a glutton, I am Lazy! God sees sin and calls it by name, when we confess, we also see ours sins for what they truly are and say it along with God.
After we confess our sins, we give all the Glory to Christ, for He is the only reason that we are a new person.
And finally we acknowledge the new creation and a life lived for and in the Glory of Christ.

So what is this living testimony?

We do this every day, every hour, every minute, and every second of every single day!
Christ has made us a new creation and has purified our hearts and made it His home. If we do sin, it is our former self trying to take over. And as soon as we realize that we have sinned we confess it to and with God, and turn from that sin back to God. Don't dwell on that sin like the enemy wants you to, Christ has already died for and paid the price for that sin. Live in the freedom that Christ offers, confess and turn from sins, then live for and in the Glory of Christ!
This is a living testimony, it grows and changes as God works in you to make you more like Christ.
Paul says in Colossians 1:24 "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, which is the church."
What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ?
We talk of the finished work of the Cross, so what does Paul mean by this?
The Cross is a finished work! Sins are forgiven if you believe in your heart the Jesus Christ is God!
But as Paul puts it in Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"
We carry the message! Our lives as we live them are a living testimony to the world about what we believe in. To the world, do we look like what they would expect? Or, do they look at us with questions running through there minds, "Why are they so different?" "What do they have that I don't?"
So, Get out there and live your life to and for the Glory of Christ, be a living testimony to the world that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!

What's with that?

Today's post is going to be short!

Everything happens for a reason. We may not like what is happening, we may not know why things are happening the way they are, but, God works in all things, Good or Bad, always for the good of those who love Him.
We can't see the future, but we can trust in God! He knows exactly where He is taking us!
For example: Bob gets fired from work and wonders why me, what did I do, what am I going to do now? Where as Frank gets fired and He looks to God and asks, "What do you have instore for me next? Where are you taking me?"
Frank may not know the reason why God didn't want him at that particular job anymore, but he knows that God has other plans for his life and that this loosing of a job is the beginning of a new chapter of his life.
So, everything that happens to us, happens for a reason! We just need to trust God, and know that He has our backs and is watching out for us!
Keep your heads up, and keep a sharp eye! Satan is just waiting to strike! Be ready to fight and continually seek Christ in every aspect of your life!
Praise be to Jesus Christ who lives and reigns on high and continuously looks out for us!
Dave

Swords or Peace?

This past weekend was a struggle to get through as well as Monday, but I have come to the Wonderful realization that, if we are persecuted, that means that we are serving Christ, we are on the battle field and the enemy has engaged us in all out war!
Matthew 10:34-39 To get the total context read all of Chapter 10!
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
There is a lot in this passage and the main point is that we need Christ! But, there is more in there. Divisions will be made if we follow Christ, if we pick up our cross on a daily basis and follow Christ!
When darkness sees the light, it hates the light, it cannot stand the light, in fact it down right detests the light! It will do anything it can to put out the light! But we all know who wins don't we, the darkness doesn't stand a chance, Christ has already won the battle, He has already won the war!
When a person is persecuted because of their faith, they must persevere through. Don't give up, recognize the situation for what it truly is, a spiritual attack. We are damaging the enemies and threatening the territory that the enemy holds, and they will not go down without a fight. I have found that the key is changing my strategy, tweeking it just a little bit. This seems to really help get through the fight.
There is great joy in the life that only Christ can give, but that joy doesn't come without a fight. And when you are really living your life for Christ it will show through, people will not see you, rather they will see Christ within you. And when that happens, there are 2 results. 1. You are living the life Christ intended for you and honoring Him through it. And 2. You will, without a doubt be persecuted for it! If you aren't persecuted, you most likely are not letting Christ shine through your life....I'm not saying that you are not saved, just not fully walking the walk so to speak.
So, in closing, Fight the Good Fight! Push through the hard stuff, Climb the Mountain! I will see you on the other side of the battle field and on at the peak of the Mountain.
God Bless!
Dave

Of Dogs and Mountains

So, I have been gone for a while, it was a tough weekend!
I have been reading through the book of Joshua and I came across this guy named Caleb!
Now Caleb means "Dog", just imagine haveing that for a name! "Hey dog, how you doing?" Caleb was one of the men selected by Moses to scout out the promised land, and he was one of the 2 that came back with a good report, saying that the land flows with milk and honey and that they should go in and take the land. While the others were affraid because there were giant people and fortified cities...oooohhhhh scary....come on, you have God on your side. After this God sends the people back into the desert for 40 years. Caleb and the other guy who had a good report are still alive, while everyone else has died and only their grown kids remain. Under Joshua, Israel takes the promised land in many battles, Jericho, Gibeon (the sun stood still for a day), and many many other battles, they deffeated 31 kings in all.
After all of this Caleb is 84 years old, and he says to Joshua, we are not done yet, there is more that God has for us! Give me some men and I will go take the Hill country, the High Ground. He's 84 years old!!!
This is how we should live our lives! The enemy will never stop attacking us, so we should never stop attacking him! Caleb's life is a testimony to what God can do, we need to trust God and serve Him in whatever mannor He calls us to!
As young people we need to take the lush and fertile soil of our hearts and win it for God, but it doesn't end there, as we get older we need to refocus our lives, see what else God has out there for us! Don't retire in the low lands, but fight for the breath taking views from the high lands of the spiritual landscape.
We all have our mountain to climb and our battles to fight, don't give up, don't give into the enemies lies! Continue to strive for the Holiness that is ours through Jesus Christ! Our hearts were purified the moment we asked Jesus Christ to make His home there and have a personal relationship with us, let that pour out into our lives so that others may see the goodness and Greatness of Jesus Christ!
Fight for your heart, then fight the toughest uphill battles, the battles of purity and holiness!
I will see you at the top when we meet in Heaven with Christ!
Always <>< and Forever
Dave