This time

Something to think about.

This Time

Esther 4:14 New International Version (NIV)

14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

The story of Esther is about being placed at a particular time in the history of Israel to deliver them from there enemies. It is a fascinating story. But what is the application to our lives?

In my lifetime in my country (USA) there have been significant changes. Abortion which was once a crime is now claimed as a right. Drugs which were once illegal have become legal. Virtually any sexual relationship being accepted as moral. Marriage has been stripped of its intended definition.   The list goes on and on.

We are living in this age.
Isaiah 5:20  (KJV)
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

It appears we are living out this verse. Our society is being turned upside down. One of the causes of this is we Christians bought into the ideology that separation of church and state meant we are to keep every vestige of Christian life out of public life. We bought into the idea that God should be kept out of public life. Then we allowed the secularist to dictate to us when and how we should express our beliefs, and by doing so, we have ushered in the apostasy we are experiencing in every area of public life.

For such a time as this, is why we are here. God chose to bring every one of us into this world at this time because he has specifically empowered us to take a stand against those who want to destroy and silence Christ.  We are the people God has chosen to be the soldiers who stand against the assaults of the enemy. If not us who? If not now when? We may be the final generations that can still change the course of the United States. It is up to us, not our children not the next generation or the one after that. It is now. It is here that we must make our stand. Just like Esther who had to put her life on the line to save her people, Israel, we are being to ask to put our lives on the line to save America.

I don't see anyone on the horizon that will be able to take this charge if we don't. Unlike Israel who may have had another deliverer if Esther failed. I don't see salvation coming from any other place for this country at this time. I don't see anyone coming to release the captives, to set free those in bondage, to bring light to the darkness. There isn't anything on the horizon that shows the promise of redeeming this country back to God.

We are Esther we are the hope of America. We must stand up and take our place in the army of God, doing what we were designed and created to do.  We were designed and created to show the world who God is.

Leia Mais…

The Essence of Christanity

Something to think about.

The Essence of Christianity

We recently went on a weekend getaway to New York we were there for 3 days. I was born and raised in the South Bronx and spent the first nineteen years of my in the city.  The city is teeming with people. There are people everywhere. As we travel throughout the city, I looked for churches invariably I saw small churches. 

We visited family who still lives there.  We visited the Freedom Tower went up to the observation deck took some beautiful pictures of the city. On Sunday we went to Hillsong Church. 
It occurred to me while I was in the Manhattan Center where Hillsong is currently holding their services that New York does not have a true mega church.  The Manhattan Center's capacity depending on configuration will hold 3500 people. When we visited, it was near capacity. Hillsong New York has several services on Sunday, so the Sunday attendance is in the thousands. Yet I say there is not a true megachurch in New York City. Why do I say that? The population of New York is 8 million plus. A few thousand is not a significant number compared to the total population. It was during the service with a couple thousand people in the church I was visiting that I realized the disparity of believers as compared to the rest of the population. 

It all resulted in this question, how do we Christians reach the lost of the world. The answer is apparent. The answer is in John 3:16, Matthew 22:36-40 and 1 Corinthians 13:13. 

John 3:16  (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

The answer is love. The answer is not found in strict adherence to a particular set of rules and regulations. It is not in-laws or traditions, theology or doctrine it is in love.  If we are to reach the world we need to show them "Love." Not love as defined by man but love as established by God. 

 

Everyone wants to be loved this is the commonality that is shared by all humanity. That is how we exemplify Christ not through laws and traditions but through love. Love not as a license to sin but love as a gift of righteousness. The sinless love God expresses to us is the love we are to express to our fellow-man. 
The way to change the world does not come through political action, not through the struggle against immorality or unrighteousness it comes through love. A positive progressive movement will only come about when the passion of God's Love is unleashed through us that belong to him. If you want to see a change in this generation at this time, it will only come through love. From the spirit of love, from the God who is love, will all benevolent action spring.  We must show the world the motivation for the crucifixion. The motivation is love, not law. If we love our neighbor with the love of God, they will come to learn and love the law of God. Law without love is bondage. Love provides the liberty to obey the law. It must first be love. Always Love.  
The essence of Christianity is Love when we deviate from it we are lost. 

Leia Mais…

The Value of God

Something to think about.

Something of Value

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

What is the value of God? I have never heard that question before. What is God worth? We make value judgments regularly. Ironic, a question that is never asked is consistently answered by our choices.  We place a value on God by our expressions and behavior. How we value God is as apparent as the air we breathe.  

So let us discuss the value of God. Since I can only discuss the value of God from my perspective, let me share my vision of God.  First, my God is perfect. Which means there is no flaw in Him. Which means he never arrived at perfection because that would mean that at some time or place in His existence he was imperfect which would then make him less than perfect.  To be perfect implies that His existence, which lies beyond my comprehension has always been perfect. Which also indicates He will always be perfect. Secondly, my God exists outside the constraints of matter, time and space. He lives or exists outside our little bubble of existence. Thirdly, He is all-powerful, which is not a statement of power as much as it is a statement of our lack of understanding of what His power is. My God is all-knowing which by definition means He is always existent. He is present in every situation passed, present and future at the same time and is involved in every situation at all times.  My God is all-knowing, which means He knows things we do not. Which means whatever conclusions we come up with that are contrary to His nature are wrong. Regardless of the titles, degrees, and accomplishments of the one saying otherwise.  My God is the final authority there is nothing that can oppose his judgments. In every area, God is higher, bigger, stronger wiser than anything man can come up with. He is bigger and more powerful than all of humanity combined. God is the ruler of this existence.   

This is the God that created the world. He created the world solely for the purpose of communing with man.  He did not do for our intellect, our resourcefulness, our strength, our beauty or our adoration of Him. He did it because he loved us.   

He created everything we need to live from the environment to food, to shelter, to companionship to intellect. God is beyond what our feeble minds can comprehend.  He will ultimately make the final decision on our existence. His sovereignty is completed without the possibility of contention.

When He breathed into Adam, He shared a part of His immortal existence with us. We are alive because of His spirit of life which He breathed into Adam.  That same breath has ignited the life of every human being since the creation of Adam. 
He created it all, everything. How do you or I place a value on the being that brought everything into existence? Yet we do. We do it in a variety of ways by ignoring Him by denying Him by claiming we are self-created. We can also define His value by our adoration of Him our recognition of Him our submission to Him. By loving Him by obedience and by repentance. Realistically we cannot put a value on God because we do not know Him fully. We can't put a value on Him because He is priceless.  He is worth more than anything in existence because He created everything in existence including you.  Though we do not know Him fully, we know enough to recognize and grant Him the honor, obedience, reverence, and love he is entitled to.  Without fully knowing Him, He is at the pinnacle of value. He is to be glorified for what He has already done. He need not do anymore, and still, His value would not be diminished.  Recognized or not His value is not dependent on humanity. He is priceless and of undefinable value whether or not we acknowledge Him. 
Just because we can't put a definitive value on God is not a reason to dismiss Him. Or deny His value in our lives this moment, today.  He is our savior. He is the Alpha and Omega, He is what sustains us and gives us life. We exist because of His conscious decision for us to live. His value is expressed in our existence.  God is responsible for your existence. Everything you need to live to exist and flourish was made by God long before you came to be. The furthest planet the biggest star the unknown of outer and inner space was created so you could exist. He expended unimaginable power wisdom and creativity just so you could live. His value supersedes everything we hold dear.  The value of God is that He exists throughout, before and after time. 

Leia Mais…