Smite

Something to think about.

Smite

Something to think about.
Smite

3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 1 Samuel 15-3

God is good He is the provider of all our needs. His love is never-ending. He is long-suffering and patient, kind, forgiving and tolerant. He has given us more than we can hope or think. He has provided for our salvation and eternal life. He made way for us when there was no way. He is gracious beyond measure, and His glory fills our lives. He gives us purpose and fulfillment. He completes our lives. He is good to us. He is perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing. He fulfills and exceeds our expectations. He is better than I can describe.

He is also the one who commanded Israel to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Look at the verse again God commands Israel to kill everything. We want to quote and hide behind the goodness of God. It is almost like we want to present a one-dimensional God. A God who is only a benevolent king. You might say this command about the Amalekites is an aberration. This command is not consistent with the character of God. That is not true. Remember the flood. Remember the 3000 dead Israelite's on their way to the promise land. Remember the generation of Israel that died in the desert. Remember the judgments that were carried out by the enemies of Israel upon Israel. God throughout history has judged people, nations. He has continually judged Israel.

God is a complete God; He is full of compassion, love, and patience. But He is also a God of judgment, wrath, and fury. What I am saying is yes God is good, but He is also going to pass judgment on humanity. His judgment will be both just and fair. Which means some of us will celebrate with complete joy: while some of us will suffer unimaginable pain. Knowing Gods impending judgment is important to Christians. Because we need to be aware of the consequences of sin in the lives of those we love. Those consequences are not just for today they are also still to come. By preaching a one-dimensional God, we are hiding the truth of God's judgment.

Is it just to share only the grace of God and not mention the wrath of God? For me, I prefer to know about every facet of God, not just those things that are music to my ears.

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Real Life

Something to think about.

Real Life 

48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:48

We Christians want, even portray Christianity as being a wonderful harmonic belief system. We do everything we can to make it as attractive as possible. We try to accentuate the great things about Christianity.

The reality is Christ was betrayed by one in His inner circle. His disciples were persecuted and killed. His believers were hunted, tortured and killed. His followers to this day are being abused, persecuted and murdered. His teaching are under attack. There is infighting among us.

Why am I writing this? If we deal with the reality, we might not lose so many to the deception that is our enemy. If we better prepare ourselves for these conflicts and realities, we will be in a better place to help the lost. 

Christianity is a mess. It is a mess because we are dealing with flawed humans and we are flawed humans.  There is no fault with the bible and its teaching. The fault is with us who have turned the word of God into a mirage of a painlessness utopia. 

We should be telling everyone the truth. Christianity is hard. You will be disappointed you will be hurt. The biggest blows will come from those you learn to love. You will fail you will hurt someone either out of ignorance or with intent. We need to tell each other and everyone we are not perfect, we don't have all the answers. Please forgive us when we fall short. Do not judge Christ by what we do judge Christ by what he has done. Forgive us for our misrepresentation of the gospel. Let it be known we will make mistakes. Christ has made a way despite our errors to redeem the lost and restore the broken hearted. Let us tell the world we will mess up but there is still a Christ that can fix it, but only He can fix it. Let us stop trying to portray a clean conflict free Christianity. Let us display a true Christianity with all of its faults and short comings. Let us allow the God we proclaim to be glorified by His restorative power and grace. Let's point others to the one that is perfect and true.

It is in our weakness that He is strong. It is in our faults that He shines. It is when we fall that He can pick us up. It is in our battles that He can bring peace. It is in our hurt that He can bring healing. It is in our defeat that He can bring victory. It is in all the things we hide that He is visible. Christianity is indeed a mess, But Jesus Christ died to clean the mess. To bring order to confusion peace to those at war and life to those that are dying. Jesus is in the business of cleaning up our mess. If we hide it, deny it, cover it or ignore it, Christ cannot be glorified by it.  Remember Christ came for those that need a savior, not for those who are saved.

• Mark 2:17 (NKJV) When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

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Shrink Back

Something to think about.

Shrink Back 

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:39

To which do you belong? Seems like a silly question. If you've shrunk back, you probably wouldn't be reading this.  And if you belong to those of faith you would not need this.  Why then is it in the bible? Because there are those of us, who are teetering on our faith.  Those who are standing at the door of belief, not fully committed to entering. This is for those who are struggling to completely commit to the truth. I would like you to notice there is not a third option. You shrink back you will be destroyed, you believe you will be saved. This is not a profound theological concept, it is straightforward, believe and be saved doubt and die. Not making a choice is a choice that will lead to death. You cannot straddle the fence on this one. God does not allow it. 

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All Scripture

Something to think about.

All Scripture

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

We have people who question the veracity and the originality of the scriptures. Claiming the written word has been tainted, changed or influenced by transmission, translation and out and out conspiracy. All of these accusations are based on an incorrect understanding of God. God who created the universe is capable of maintaining His word intact throughout the generations.  The idea that God inspired people to write His instruction manual and then left it to be changed and manipulated is ludicrous. God's word "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," because He has taken special care to ensure that it has remained unchanged by the passions, ambitions, and manipulations of man. It is Gods word and not mans word as such He will never let the world be without it. God will not allow His divine word to be replaced by a polluted counterfeit production of Man. 

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Sharper

Something to think about.

Sharper

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Have you ever wonder why the reaction to the Gospels is sometimes visceral?  Maybe because the word of God cannot be bargained with. It always brings you back to truth. It is alive and relentless in its exposition of truth. It cuts through the layers of deception and exposes the lies we dilute to our selves with. It lays bare the inconsistencies of our thoughts and points to the one true God.  Maybe because it exposes to ourselves the shallowness of our selfless sinful intent.
The word of God can will also show you His redemptive, restorative grace. It shows you His longsuffering patience It shows you His amazing love. It shows you the life He offers you. The word of God is the fork in the road with with redemption, salvation, grace, love and joy on one side. the other road is the lost life you've chosen.

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My Voice

Something to think about.

My Voice

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Do you know the voice of Him who has called you, is calling you? Do you know the voice of God? Some may even wonder does God even speak anymore? Jesus rose from the dead; that did not occur so that He would be silent and hidden. He was raised from the dead to live and to be the first of the resurrection. The voice of God is not a singular sensation. It can be seen in the sunrise it can be heard in the quietest of moments. It is the idea that wakes you up in the middle of the night. It is at the moment of inspiration that moves you to action. It is the thought that comes out of the blue. It is wisdom. It is the bible. It is a voice the speaks in words. The voice of God is truth. The voice of God is in everything that is good and just. You see the voice of God is everywhere we just need to recognize, hear, respond to it and acknowledge it.

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Resurrection

Something to think about.

He is Risen

⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:6
In the book, A case for Christ, the author sets out to prove that the resurrection did not happen. After an exhaustive investigation, the author comes to the conclusion that the resurrection did indeed happen.  He found that the reports in the New Testament were true.

The thing about the truth is, it is indisputable.  What that means is despite your disposition about an event or a report the truth is not affected.  For example, if the resurrection did not happen Christianity is pointless. It would mean that Christ died pretty much the same as any other man. It would dismantle the foundation of every Christian belief. Without the resurrection, Christianity would have fallen off the map as quickly as His death. And that truth would have destroyed Christianity. Your acceptance or rejection of truth does not affect it. In other words, it does not make any difference to the truth if you believe it or not. The truth stands on its own forever, there is nothing that can change or effect the truth.

That is the crux of the issue, is it true? Did the resurrection occur? If it did it, it is truth and just like any other truth, it can not be changed regardless of anyone's support or rejection of it.
He is risen is a statement, the question is it is valid. In the book, the author does an excellent job of answering the questions about the validity of the reports of His resurrection.  As a Christian or a non-Christian, you need to answer this question for yourself.   If He was resurrected your eternity is assured if He wasn't resurrected, you're not bound by any of the claims of Christianity. I believe if you follow the evidence as did the author of the book you will come to the same conclusion. He Is Risen.     

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Truth

Evil is forcibly introducing itself into our daily lives. From the killing of innocent citizens in our streets to massacres in nightclubs and theaters. Our leaders are quick to blame the weapons of warfare as the culprit for these actions. However, weapons are weapons, without intent and use they are but physical items without purpose.

We hear in popular culture that love will overcome hate. The only problem with that premise  is that the problem is not hate, the problem is evil. How do we defeat an enemy that cannot be persuaded or deterred from completing its singular purpose?  As long as we hide behind words such as hate, prejudice, injustice, extremism, radicalism, sickness, racism and intolerance we will never be able to defeat evil. Though these words describe current realities, they do nothing to address the cause of evil.  Evil stands on a level of its own. Evil is not rational, it is not intellectual, it does not contain an iota of morality, justice, compassion or care. You can’t reason with it, you can’t negotiate with it.  You can’t legislate it away. There is nothing within it that you can appeal to. It has no saving grace. There is nothing redeeming about evil.  Evil cannot and will not be appeased, it won’t be satisfied. It is relentless and without remorse. Evil does not respond to love.  It only exists to destroy.

In Ephesians it says:

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

What does this mean for Christians? The verse says “For we”.  It is not optional we are at war. We are at war against overwhelming evil forces we cannot defeat. Spiritual forces in high places, an enemy that will not be identified by conventional means which is invisible to those who deny it's existence. Whose fruit is evident to all and becoming more apparent each day. What is happening in the world is it is losing a battle, a war it was never designed to win. The only way to defeat evil is with truth, not good will, not love.

The only one that will win this war is the God of truth. The only people who will share in this victory are those who call Christ Lord.  How will the world know of Him? God has commissioned us  to make the world aware of Him. The world will not hear it from any other source because there is no other source, we are it, you and me. You may feel insignificant and unimportant in a cosmic battle beyond your comprehension but your testimony is the unstoppable force that will unleash the power and truth of God into a lost world.

Your testimony is crucial for the world to be saved. It won’t happen without you.

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