Forum

02-21-12 - The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-21-12-spirit-is-willing-but-flesh-is.html Matthew 26:41 - "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." When you feel like a whipped dog and all you can do is lie down and let your ears hang loose...seek the LORD for restoration! His promise is in Isaiah 40:31 - "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." God never promised that you wouldn't get tired along the way - what He did promise is that He would carry you through those times. "I WILL CARRY YOU" by Michael W. Smith LYRICS TO "I WILL CARRY YOU" http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-will-carry-you-lyrics-michael-w-smith.html Were we ever truly meant to walk this earth alone? Not according to God's promise! Even in the beginning, when God created Adam, He had compassion on Him. He was made "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27). God was concerned with him as a person, creating animals, and eventually a human counterpart, so that he would not be lonely. He gave him a beautiful garden, the garden of Eden, to dwell in, and a life of ease. We as humans have consistently destroyed every good gift that God has offered us, yet He has constantly sought to help lead us and guide us in the right ways. Even Jesus said it in a parable in Luke 15:4-7 / 4What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. God's entire mission throughout the Bible has been to restore man to a rightful relationship with Him. We were never designed to have to walk this life alone - God has ALWAYS desired to walk with us, and to have the type of relationship written in Jeremiah 32:38 - "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:". In my personal experience, I have found that when times got tough, I have been able to lean on God, praying and trusting in His Word. What I have found to be very true is that His Word comes to pass just as He promised. I have experienced dire situations in life that I prayed through, and God either spoke to me via a vision, or directly through His Word, and it came to pass just as He said it would. Some may say I am simply creating a fantasy world, but I have too many testimonies of God's glory. I, likewise, believe that someone can create a fantasy world without God, and conveniently write Him off every time He shows Himself. His promise shows itself to be true - God is good! God bless!

02-18-12 - Ye Shall Know Them By Their Fruits http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-18-12-ye-shall-know-them-by-their.html Matthew 7:16 - Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?We will cover these scriptures on greater detail in a minute, but understanding this scripture tells us A LOT about Christians in comparison to the world. I also want to discuss the apostle Peter in this lesson, because although he would not qualify permanently under this scripture, for a very short season he got off track. This lesson is primarily about "false prophets", or "wolves in sheep's clothing". Those terms can be found in the preceding scripture, Matthew 7:15 - we will cover that one in just a second. This lesson is a valid Biblical response to a valid point that has been brought up quite a few times in the atheist community on chess.com - many times Christians do terrible things in the name of God. First, we must state that this epidemic is not just with Christians! There are a lot of people that do a lot of awful things in the name of another. One brought up people obeying Hitler or Hell's Angels, or becoming part of a gang. The difference here is that Hitler PROMOTED the destruction of the Jews in God's name - those who followed his command were OBEYING orders rather than DISOBEYING them. What is the purpose of Hell's Angels? I will quote a segment off of Wikipedia (you can read the entire document at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hells_Angels) - "Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service classify the Angels as one of the "big four" (Hell's Angels, Pagans, Outlaws, and Bandidos) motorcycle gangs, contending that members carry out widespread violence, drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion.[14][15] Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies.[16][17][18]". If we follow the criteria that the FBI gives for the Hell's Angels (violence, drugs, trafficking, extortion), then we can classify it as a form of a gang. A gang typically has a leader (or leaders) who preach a certain purpose - some form of ideology. Some may say that it is incorrect for me to use the term "preach", since it is so often related to a Christian minister speaking to a group of believers. However, the term also means "to urge acceptance or abandonment of an idea or course of action". This is a more loose definition, and is more befitting of the word in a loose manner. In a gang, the leader preaches a form of thought - money, control, power, and how to obtain those things. The followers are OBEYING the commands, not disobeying. If my leader is Obama, and he tells me I must pay taxes, then I must do it. He is my President - he is my leader. Besides Obama, I also have a boss at work that asks me to come into work from 8a-5p. I obey those orders, and I also come into work with a purpose - to bring in new business. I do this cheerfully, and we have had a wonderful boost in activity recently - however, I am still obeying orders. The real point that the particular fellow (he was atheist, but I am not going to continue to refer to that, as in reality this is a discussion between people, and I do not want to create a negative connotation on a person based on beliefs) made - that those who were following a set of beliefs in the name of God were doing atrocious things and did them IN the name of God - is a valid point of discussion. Here is the direct quote - "My point is that what you have tapped into is a common source of self-esteem that isn't limited to Christianity or a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's the same mechanism that leads people to the Hell's Angels or the Crips or Bloods or Mafia, and gives them a sense of purpose and acceptance." My point here is that he is correct - people are driven by a sense of purpose in those groups, and therefore they feel justified in their actions. My point concerning Christians is - does their life reflect the type of life that Christ commanded us to live? This is where we really seperate a lot of people who claim to be Christians vs. those who are genuinely obeying the message Christ set forth for us. Let's go back to the original scripture we discussed in Matthew 7:16, but I want to focus on the surrounding scriptures in that area - we are going to discuss verses 15-20. Matthew 7:15-20 / 15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. What is Jesus talking about? Fruits? Well, yes - but spiritual fruits. Just as a tree in bloom begins to bear fruits, such as apples, oranges and bananas, a Christian who is obeying Christ will begin to birth spiritual fruit. What are these spiritual fruit? We read about them in Galatians 5:22-23 / 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Paul mentions nine fruits here, but we even see a broader reference in Revelation 22:2 - In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Paul mentioned nine of the fruits, but John says that he saw 12 fruits on the tree. In short, I believe we can deduce that God has plenty of good fruit for those who abide in Him. So, in other words, Jesus is teaching that a good tree CANNOT bear bad fruit, and a bad tree CANNOT bear good fruit. This does not mean that a Christian never sins (breaks one of God's commands) - it means that if we are continually following God, our life will continue to grow in a holy fashion. We will continue to be transformed"...from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18). The old natures will begin to dry up and die away, making room for the new fruit to be birthed. I am not going into a big lesson about how this fruit comes to be. In short, it is birthed through a genuine, humble obedience to the Word of God. First, it births repentance in us by exposing our faults. As we begin to repent of these sins in our lives, God forgives us - but even more, He begins "...to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down" (Jeremiah 1:10). He must first tear out that which is cancerous before He came make room "...to build, and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10). God cannot fit fruit into a place that is full of wickedness! Just as you cannot fit food into a fridge that is fully stocked, so God cannot fit that which is holy into a vessel which is full of filth. First, God must remove that which is offensive in His sight, and then He can begin to grow that which is holy in our lives. I will stop here for a second - some may say I am being unfair to those who don't believe in God, yet are good people. It is true that a person can not believe in God, yet be a good person. However, our standards never match up to God. According to the Bible, it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to make it to heaven on my own righteousness. Even in my best attempts, they will ALWAYS fall short of God's standards. That is why it is IMPERATIVE as a Christian to acknowledge that our salvation is 100% SOLELY through Christ, and not of our own works. God begins the work in our heart when we accept Christ via forgiveness of sins, and He begins a work of transformation in our lives. The more we allow Him to do, the more He will do. This is why Jesus spoke of in Mark 4:8 - "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred". We can be saved and following God, but not allow Him to have a perfect work in our lives. We will only allow Him so much room to operate in our lives, and therefore we only see so much results. It is no different than if you heard a recommendation from the doctor, yet chose to pick and choose what requirements he sat before you for a clean bill of health. Let's suppose he was giving you a recommendation of three things - good diet, exercise, and water. Well, you don't mind the diet and the water, but you don't feel like exercising. Well, you will see some results, but not as good as if you had followed the total recipe for improvement. So it is with God - we can perhaps choose the love part, but struggle with the tithing part. Maybe we can handle the forgiveness part, but not be willing to give our time when we need to help others in need. Some will go 30 fold - they will follow God part of the way. Some will go 60-fold - they will allow God to operate even more in their lives. Some will even go 100-fold - they adopt an attitude of "I am going to follow you God no matter what". I hope this quick analogy helps explain this. It doesn't strip away the fact that a non-believer can be a better person than a believer also! There are some people that believe in God, but do LOTS of terrible things! But just because you believe does not mean that you are obeying what Christ taught either. I can tell people I am Christian, but if I don't obey Christ, my confession is empty and without meaning. There are atheists who are good-hearted people. They may not believe in a conscience, but profess to use good common sense in how to treat people. In Christianity, we refer to that is our conscience - the moral guiding rod that God instills in all of us to lead us in what is right and wrong, until we learn about the Divine Truth, which is Christ. I could continue on in this lesson for a long time! This is a necessary topic of discussion, and it deserves LOTS of attention today! So many are setting a bad example of what Christianity is all about, and we need to come back to basics, comparing a person's life with what Christ commanded of us. I will end this lesson for now with a portion of the Bible. Some mention the practices that were taught in the Old Testament as barbaric. I am going to discuss one such area here - the stoning of an adulteress. I cannot teach a deep lesson on this area, due to the time it would take to read this lesson, but I want to make a point that Jesus brings out. The OT law was designed to teach us righteous judgments, but even more, to teach us mercy. When we understand that in God's eyes adultery is a crime worthy of death (breaking of a covenant), and then we learn that when we lust after someone else, we are guilty of the same crime (Matthew 5:27-30), we want God's mercy. We may accuse His laws of being unfair, but in God's eyes, adultery is a very serious crime. He takes the sanctity of the marriage bed in serious fashion! It even goes so far as to say in Revelation 21:8 - "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." When we choose to continue in gross sin, we reap the punishment that God has required for sin. In the Old Testament, it was taught that a sin offering was to be burned - fire upon the sin speaks of God's vengeance upon disobedience to His Word. Some may say God is harsh in this regard, but in His eyes, disobeying that which is holy deserves punishment. We are all born into sin - we are diseased with this. However, when we come to realize that we have either physically (or in our hearts) murdered, lied, cheated, stolen...we have a choice. We can choose to continue in those things, or repent. Or, we can try to make amends outside of God's provision. If there is no God, then either form of repentance will do - they will improve our life upon earth. If, however, the God of Israel, Jehovah, is real, and His Son Jesus Christ really did come upon this earth and do what He said, we need to give heed to the fact that we cannot make up the difference that is required in our life - we must acknowledge that salvation only comes through Christ. Back to the lesson on stoning of the adulteress. The Old Testament teaches in Leviticus 20:10 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death". This is the rightful punishment for the crime in the eyes of God - adultery is to be punished by stoning. So, we fast forward to John 8:1-11 / 1Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Technically, the people had the right to stone the woman, but they had not acknowledged the sin in their own lives! We all have committed crimes that are worthy of death according to the Old Testament, but we must also acknowledge that the same God who talked of those punishments also talked of mercy, and of redemption. Jesus summed up so much when he quoted Hosea 6:6 - "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice..." - the point behind the law was never to teach us to kill one another, but to learn that we all fall short of God's glory, and we all are in need of help in His eyes. I cannot vouch for non-Christian fellowships, because their set of rules may even be based on a god that is not the Christian God. However, in judging as to those who claim to be Christian, yet are not obeying Christ, Jesus Himself says in Matthew 7:21-23 that there will be many people on the day of judgment who stand before Him claiming to be a Christian, and He will call them a liar, because their lives did not reflect the type of life He commanded of them. I leave you with Matthew 7:21-23 / 21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. God bless!

02-15-12 - Speak The Truth In Love While it is true that the Bible speaks about becoming saved, coming into a life of holiness and abstaining from sin, we often fail at one subject - our outreach to others.We are afraid of people making fun of us for believing in God. We become angry if they speak against what we believe, calling us dumb, uneducated, superstitious, etc. We may even retaliate, telling them not-so-nice things because we got our feelings hurt.Guys, it is true that the Bible speaks against sin, but it never tells us to go around pointing a finger of judgment at everyone. We are called to preach the truth, but not to go out wounding people who are not saved. It is God's conviction that inspires our heart to repentance. We cannot force anyone to come to God - all we can do is simply be a light to others in this world.So what am I saying? Today, take the time to BE THE LIGHT. Don't look at everything wrong that everyone else is doing. They have to be accountable for their own life. All that you can do is lean on God, living your own life. As it is written in Philippians 2:12, we must all "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling".This post is much more than just a small Bible lesson. THIS IS A CALL TO ALL CHRISTIANS TO "BE THE LIGHT". You may be the only Jesus that someone ever gets the chance to see - do they see Jesus shining through you? Do you look down on others because they are not living a life you believe God would approve of? Jesus went to spend time with sinners in the Bible, and He told the Pharisees in Luke 5:31-32 / "...They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." How many people do you think you are going to win to God when you are looking down on them? God has called us to a ministry of love, not of judgment. Today I encourage you to begin to reach out to people, and to demonstrate the love of Christ to those around you. Sometimes the best message you can preach is not right out of a Bible - it is taught through helping pack groceries in a house, giving a kind word, encouraging someone in need, etc. Use the gifts that God has given you to reach out to those who have not gotten to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. God bless!http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-15-12-speak-truth-in-love.html

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-15-12-walk-with-christ.html 02-15-12 / A Walk with Christ For those who think Christianity is a life of lollipops and gumdrops - you are mistaken! A walk with Christ is a BOLD walk with God where you refuse to bow down to the devil and his evil ways. It is a walk that not everyone is going to agree with. You will not bow down to mankind's threats - you are strong in your faith. However, you must be HUMBLE and full of God's LOVE if you are ever going to make it a balanced walk. A walk of JUSTICE must be balanced with a walk of FORGIVENESS and MERCY. Remember, God walks alongside of you - He sees every tear that you cry, and He knows the pain that you go through. These trials are not intended to tear you down, but rather to make you into the man or woman of God that He knows you can be. Without fire, metal cannot be purified - without tests, a person of God cannot be proven to see if they will be faithful or not. What the devil has intended for evil, God has allowed - FOR GOOD.Psalm 56:8 - "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" God has record of EVERY TEAR.Luke 12:7 - "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." God has record of EVERY HAIR.I could continue on, but the point is - God is paying attention to YOU! You are of so much value to God the Father, that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in your place, so that you could have a new life. He paid the price that we were due - every wrong thing we have ever done, Jesus paid the price for that. He did it so that we could be forgiven, and so that we could have a way to spend eternity with God in heaven. Before Jesus paid the price, there was no way directly into heaven - we were guilty in our sins. But now, through the death of Jesus Christ, we have an advocate before the Father. Jesus pleads our case before the Father, asking Him to give us forgiveness and eternal life.Friend, you are dearly loved by God the Father, and by His Son, Jesus Christ. They have given ALL for you - will you take His hand today and let Him be your Lord and Saviour?John 3:16 - "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." There is a promise of eternal salvation for all who believe in Jesus Christ!Romans 10:9 - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." If you will publicly confess Him - not just tell people that you are Christian, but begin to obey Him - you will be saved. It begins with confession, but just like in marriage, it is the beginning of a life-long journey with God - one day at a time.Matthew 22:35-40 / "35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." You don't have to know the whole Bible in order to begin serving God today! THE TWO MAIN LAWS - #1 - LOVE GOD 100%, AND #2 - LOVE OTHERS 100%. This doesn't mean that you condone everything that they do. However, you must treat others the way you want to be treated. Along the way, God has supplied you with tools - THE BIBLE, PRAYER, PRAISE (SINGING, DANCING, SHOUTING), FASTING, THE HOLY SPIRIT...God truly cares for you, my friend!How about giving Jesus an opportunity today? I did, and I have NEVER regretted it. I had nothing to live for - He gave me a new life. I had no hope - He gave me hope. I had no meaning - He gave life meaning. I felt dead - He gave me new life! I had no purpose - HE gave me purpose. From the throne of God, to the heart of man, comes the greatest act of compassion and kindness we could ever know. God will transform you, if you give Him the chance. You don't have to be perfect - simply willing to follow Him. He will begin to work a new walk within you, if you will only humble yourself before Him!God bless!

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."1 Corinthians 10:31 The billion dollar question (lol) for today is: How do we know what activities are acceptable for us to participate in? Which are not? What principles determine what events we should participate in? Some hard questions, huh? Now a lot of us are and always will be, learning principles taken from the Bible and how we should apply them to our lives. So, this week I will give you something to chew on. If you get any revelations about it, send me an email! I'd love to hear it! So here is an example of an activity. What would you do...if you were asked to participate in an unbelieving relative's wedding? Should you or should you not? Now I am not saying I know the correct answer to this question, but before I say anything else, I want you to think Biblically about what you would do in that situation and have a scripture to back you up. You can even email me your thoughts. I would like to hear from as many of you as possible. Remember, none of us are perfect. We are all still learning God's ways and how they apply to our lives. I want to hear your thoughts, comments, ideas or first thing that came to your mind as you read this. First, we should ask ourselves, “Does this bring glory to God?” Because that is the goal of our lives: to give God glory by the testimony of how we live. Second, “How do we determine that an activity that brings glory to God?” This can be a tricky question to answer. However, when you find out the answer, all it's ideas MUST be based on scripture because it's our guide to how we should live and walk in this present world. Third, “Is participating in an activity with unbelievers acceptable?” Well, based on what we affirmed earlier, if we do participate in ANY activity it has to be with the goal of glorifying God in our attitude, speech and how we act. Fourth, “If we do participate in an activity with unbelievers, will I cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble?” Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not becomea stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak consciencesees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’tthat person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So thisweak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by yourknowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weakconscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes mybrother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, sothat I will not cause them to fall." 1 Cor 8: 8-13 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 Walk in His Spirit this week as you study God's Word to find answers to these hard questions. Ask Him to open your eyes to understand what you didn't before.

In Galatians 5, Paul makes the statement "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." It sounds so simple, but what does it actually mean? Whenever you see spirit and flesh set side by side in a passage (“the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” or “the spirit wars against the flesh,” as Paul says here), we’re talking about, not the warfare between the physical body of man and his internal, mental, or spiritual inclinations, but rather the conflict that every Christian experiences between his old nature—his fallen nature, which is corrupt and is filled with desires that are not pleasing to God—and the new nature within him that has been brought to pass by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Now, life becomes complicated once we are renewed by the Holy Spirit (when we become a Christian); now we have two principles at war within ourselves: the old inclinations and the new inclinations. The old inclination is against God, and the new inclination is to obey God and to do that which is pleasing to him. In this Galatians passage, Paul discusses the ongoing battle that all Christians experience. He admonishes us at one point and says, “Follow the new principle; follow the new spirit, not the old pattern that was characteristic of your original state of fallenness.” He’s not saying that your physical body is at war with your soul, but that your natural inclinations are at war with the transformation toward which the Holy Spirit is constantly moving you as a child of God. And that does involve a decision and an act of the will. R.C. Sproul

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-12-12-emotional-storms.html 02-12-12 / Emotional Storms Matthew 7:24-25 / 24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Often when we hear this scripture, we think of external issues - finances, marital problems, children...life happens! However, it also has internal implications. I had never really thought of it this way before - the Holy Spirit made me sensitive to this yesterday morning. A quick testimony - I was going through a series of emotions that were based on something that happened to me that I didn't like. It really bothered me. I did not feel that I was correct to have these emotions, but they were there! You cannot magically force them to go away! So what did I do? I began to seek God for healing over these issues in my heart. He then proceeded to direct me to the above-mentioned Scriptures - sometimes the turbulence comes from within. What can we do when our emotions try to conquer our walk with God? We all know that sometimes, things tick us off! Traffic, people running their mouth, favoritism on the job...let's face it and be honest. We all go through things that make us feel like they are not being fair. THERE IS NO HEALING WITHOUT CONFESSION! Confession is good for the soul - Doctor Jesus cannot come and heal you until you allow Him in to have His way in your life! Read in the book Song of Solomon 2:9 / My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. It says that the beloved (Jesus Christ) is shewing himself through the lattice - there is a wall there! We can see Him, but are we letting Him in? Maybe you have walled off parts of your heart that you don't want for God to visit! REMEMBER - HE CAN STILL SEE THROUGH THE LATTICE! He is always faithful to make Himself known during your moments of hiding and trying to fix it yourself - BUT He is also always willing to come in and heal you. It is going to take you opening the door to the lattice you have built around your life. What did I do? What could I do? Emotionally, I was out of line with God's Word. The emotions I was feeling were subjecting me to strong anger and hurt. What could I do? THE ONLY THING I KNEW TO DO WAS TO LAY UNDERNEATH THE HEALING WINGS OF GOD! God gives us a promise inMalachi 4:2 - But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. There is healing in the wings of the Sun of Righteousness to be given for those who are hungry for more! How do I get this healing? YOU NEED TO GET ALONE WITH GOD! Unfortunately, I couldn't physically get alone with God - time and circumstance would not permit it. However, I was able spiritually and mentally to get alone with God. I began to focus my attention on God, meditating on His Word, praying and asking Him to heal me of my infirmity (negative emotions) and bring me to where I need to be. Let's look at this in the natural for a minute, shall we? Let's pretend I have a cancer tumor. Does that make me a bad person? No - it means I am sick, and that I need a doctor to take care of this for me. It is the same in the spiritual. When God reveals a spiritual tumor in our lives (lust, unholy anger, rebellion, covetousness, etc.), He is not trying to downgrade us. RATHER, He is trying to show us something that is robbing us of our full potential in life. He is bringing a diagnosis to the table. The next step is treatment, which is according to the prescription given in Malachi 4:2 - spending alone time with God as He works on that spiritual tumor to remove it and bring healing! WHAT DO I DO WHEN I AM ALONE WITH GOD TO RECEIVE THE HEALING? #1 - First, you must believe! If you are playing prayer, or playing church, how do you expect God to work with you? IT IS TIME TO BE REAL WITH GOD! #2 - Begin to focus your thoughts on God. Give Him praise! He deserves it! Some might say you should begin with repentance, which is good too, but I like to proceed even repentance in a moment like this with praise and thanksgiving! However, there is no set formula - THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU COME BEFORE HIM HUMBLY! #3 - Confess your faults before Him. You may not understand all things at the moment, but a walk of faith will trust the LORD, and when something does not line up in your life with the Word of God, a godly person will deal with that issue! Sometimes pride gets in the way, and we try to take care of it in the flesh. HOWEVER, THAT SHOWS THAT WE ARE STILL SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE. A mature Christian will begin to realize how necessary it is to come to God IMMEDIATELY for Him to heal the situation. #4 - LISTEN! This is a step in prayer that many Christians lack. PRAYER WITH GOD IS NOT JUST A ONE-WAY STREET WHERE YOU TELL HIM THE WAY IT IS GOING TO BE. If you read in the Bible, you will see many times when holy men and women of God are praying, they are having a discussion with God. So it is today - we cry out to God, but we must also be ready to listen to what He has to say - maybe the problem is something that we are creating, and don't even know it! #5 - Spend as much time in His presence as you can - the more time spent, the quicker the healing! Christians who are too busy to spend time with God cannot expect much results! As I said, sometimes time and circumstance don't permit - you can never guess when every problem is going to occur. However, God has given you tools to prepare you for "the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13). If you say, "Well, I am not a Christian, so I cannot do that" - well, I used to not be a Christian either! When I was young, I did not have a religion or a God that I chose as my own...not until I became 10. That is still young for some, but for me, it was a moment of awakening. I have not been perfect since, but I have learned over the years that God is faithful, His Word really does bring light and life to my life, and with Him on my side, all things are possible. To finish this lesson, I want to give note to a part of my experience with God on this. As I began to listen (which was step #4 - and please note, this is not a definitive list - it is simply a guideline based on personal principles God has instilled in me during my prayer), God began to speak to me. He revealed to me how something I was doing wrong (based on selfishness) was helping to create the situation I did not like that was happening. IN OTHER WORDS - GOD WAS GIVING ME WISDOM ON HOW TO MAKE THAT SITUATION MORE PLEASANT IN THE FUTURE. If I had not listened, I would not have been able to hear God's diagnosis - SELFISHNESS. He never spoke it in a mean way. God is a loving Father, and He is interested in HEALING, not HURTING us. He must, as a just and loving Father, expose the culprit in our lives. But, He is faithful to lead us the right way! I am not going to expose the whole situation, as that would be unnecessary for the lesson. What is most important here is that we all need to acknowledge our shortcomings before God, and that we give Him the opportunity to heal us and lead us the right way. PART OF THE JOB IS GOD'S ALONE - THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ONLY HE CAN BRING HEALING TO. As I laid in His presence spiritually and mentally, He began to give me a spiritual suntan, changing the tune of my attitude! His Son-rays are full of love and light, and it gives our attitude a more pleasant color! You can easily see that those who spend a lot of time in His presence are changed - their countenance will often glow with love! So, we learn that God has a healing job, as well as a job to expose our shortcomings before Him, so that we can repent (decide to quit doing things the wrong way) and follow Him! I want to encourage you that this genuinely works. I felt better after a period of time, and in the midst of my storm, I kept my eyes (spiritually) focused on God's Word and His healing, and I was keen to listen for His voice. God bless you! These are the links to the video on Facebook, if you would like to listen to the message. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3260677523708&set=vb.309954195712978&type=2&theater http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3260764005870&set=vb.309954195712978&type=2&theater

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Joshua 24:14a The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. Psalm 19:9 This week, I kept running into passages of scripture talking about the fear of the Lord. Lately, I've been feeling that I don't have a true fear of the Lord as I ought to, so I thought this study would help me and hopefully educate you as well. There are a lot of passages that talk about the fear of the Lord, fearing God or fearing the Lord, so there will be a lot of scripture in this letter. Enjoy as we dig deep into the character and mysteries of God! Fear = reverence, terror, or dread, normally translated simply fear. It can also mean respect, reverence or honor. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 1 Samuel 12:24 The definition of revere is: to regard as worthy of great honor. God truly is worthy of our honor, praise and reverence. Notice how the word revere is in the same verse as fear the LORD. They walk hand in hand. The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. Ps 25:14 Based on this verse, fearing the LORD has benefits for us as well as for God. God gets the glory due Him and we get to understand what God's law is so we can follow it. Who, then, are those who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. Psalm 25:12 See, if we fear the LORD, He will guide us. He will help us as we choose to walk on the straight and narrow path. We should choose that way. If we do not, then we have no one to blame except ourselves for straying since we know how we ought to act and live according to the law of God. You who fear the LORD, praise him! Psalm 22:23a I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:There is no fear of God before their eyes. Psalm 36:1 Here is our warning. With wisdom and instruction also comes a warning. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Psalm 33:8 This is good reminder for me. When I read it, it helps me grasp how to have the fear of the LORD. It's pretty simple actually, but it's hard for us because we're sinners. We are proud and we don't want to acknowledge the power of God and how we owe Him our honor and fear because He is a just God. This passage sums up how to describe God and His perfect ways. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desiredare they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11 This week, let us seek to wholeheartedly fear the LORD. You can write out some of these passages to remind you how you can honor Him by fearing Him. And remember, blessings come when we follow His commands. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7

this is my older brother! tyler macon and he is good at the word. please listen and enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCEBTgPv9RA&feature=related

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-05-12-my-will-vs-thy-will-gods.html

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/02/02-03-12-acceptance.html

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/01/1-28-12-follow-lamb-wherever-he-goes.html

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/01/1-24-12-galatians-516-walk-in-spirit.html?spref=fb

http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/01/1-20-12-quench-not-spirit.html This is my latest blog on www.blogger.com. It is on 1 Thessalonians 5:19 - "Quench Not The Spirit". If you like my blog, please subscribe! God bless! Doug Pinson

All, We are currently totally outclassed in the match, Internet tim BASK Beograd vs Modern Crusaders. We have only three players. I am currently set to take on someone 425 points above me. If anyone can join, especially higher rated players, we can REALLY use the help.

1-14-12 – Led by Truth vs. Led by Lusts – Part 2 Last week we discussed how there will be things preached over the pulpit from time to time that do not match with the Word of God. When we take the time to study God's Word, we are not easily tricked up by misinformed preaching. There are some preachers that get mad if you question what they teach. As for me, I encourage you to investigate my messages in your Bible. This way, you can see if I am telling the truth or not - and, along the way, you will learn more about God's Word, and be more empowered to make better spiritual choices that will help you in life! God's Word has helped many, many leaders in life. Even if you don't agree with the fact that Jesus died for your sins, and you approach the Bible from a moral standpoint, the concepts of helping your neighbor, treating others as you would want to be treated, etc. - they are a great guidepost for making moral decisions. We began last week about talking about truth - I want to talk a bit today about being led by lusts. In essence, this lesson is a "THY WILL VS. MY WILL" lesson. I teach those types of lessons often, but the LORD puts them on my heart regularly to do so. Why? We are living in a "GIVE ME" age! Even in the church, people are constantly coming to God, asking Him for more giftings, more knowledge, more wisdom, more power, more finances...but how about more humility? How about more submission? How about more faith? Whose will do we want fulfilled here - God's, or ours? I have a question for you - if God has a plan for your life, why is it that you think you need to help Him figure out how it should be done? I think God smiles sometimes seeing us in our bumbling efforts, as He tries yet again, and again, and again, to help us back up on the straight and narrow. I am not going to get deep in this lesson - I think it will speak for itself, even without a load of scripture. First, we need to find out what lust is - what does it mean to be led by lusts? What is lust? One of the Greek words for lust is "epithymia", which means "desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust". We know that in God, there is also a holy lust - a lust to grow in God. Generally speaking, people associate the word "lust" with wicked things, and understandably so - basically every time the word "lust" is used in the Bible, it is used to describe a sinful desire. In most instances, it is treated as a sexual word (Matthew 5:28 - But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.) However, if you look at www.dictionary.com, you see one side to the coin that is contrary to the negative connotations this word receives - "ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish: an enviable lust for life." Just as there is an unholy lust, there is also a holy lust. The word "lust" essentially means "desire or craving". To desire more of the presence of the LORD is to have a holy lust for Him. Some may disagree on this, and say that it is incorrect to use the word "lust" in such a format, but they wouldn't disagree that the word "lust" and "desire" have the same basic meanings. The only difference is that lust has been given a negative connotation in conversation, whereas desire has not been tagged with the scarlet letter. A holy lust is a desire to quench the flesh under the mighty hand of God, and to serve Him above our own selfish desires. As I said, using this word "lust" will be hard for some to grasp - to use it next to the word "holy" would be a bitter pill to swallow. But at least understand that not every definition of the word "lust" is a negative one - at least one meaning has a healthy, positive outlook. Before I go any further into the lesson, take a look at the word "gay". If you said it today, it means something totally different than it did 100 years ago. The true meaning of the word "gay" is "happy", but it is used so frequently to describe homosexual behaviour, it has been tainted. So, please keep that in mind as you think about what I have said. Take a quick look at Deuteronomy 12:15 - "Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart." The word "lusteth" comes from the Hebrew word "אַוָּה" ('avvah), which means "desire, lust, will (not necessarily evil)". Even the Bible is backing up what I am saying here - I just want for people to take a look at the Word, and not lean to their own understanding. Here, I am talking about unholy lusts - the desires of the flesh. How do I know if a desire that I have is an unholy one? The measuring rod is the Word of God! You can use any instance in life and compare it to the Word, to see if what you are experiencing is lining up with the Word of God! For the sake of this conversation, since most people will associate the word "lust" with something negative, I am going to use the word "desire". If you desire to help others in need, that is a godly lust. If you desire to pray for the sick, that is a godly lust. If you desire to share the Good News of the Gospel with others, that is a godly lust. Now, if you desire to flirt with men or women outside of your marriage covenant, that is an unholy lust. Some may say this old saying - "you can look at the menu, as long as you don't order". Let me ask you a question - if you wouldn't let a thief in your house, why would you let them camp out in your front yard? If you wouldn't let someone burn down your house, why would you let them pour gas in the front yard and stand there with a box of matches? Why entertain the concept of sin? God is after PURITY and RIGHTEOUSNESS! As long as we entertain the concept of sin, we show that our heart is not yet totally bridled by the Word of God - it is still led by the lusts of the flesh! Galatians 5:24 says "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Friend, you have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ! He shed His blood for you, so that you could be forgiven of your sin. In exchange, you have given your life to Him, so that He can use it for the glory of God. Don't be led of the fleshly lusts. They are not of God - they are of the world. What kingdom can be ruled by two kings? What person can be ruled by two desires? Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:24 - "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." If you allow sin in, even by the least amount, it is like yeast, which makes bread rise. This is why Paul wrote in Galatians 5:9 - "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." You must STRIVE to put away ALL LEAVEN (sin) out of your life via the blood (repentance), prayer, fasting, and humility. You must have a HOLY LUST to put away the UNHOLY LUST from your life. If this is a large pill to swallow, I understand. In most instances, I use the word "desire" instead of "lust" when I am talking about following the LORD. This has less to do with word definitions, and more to do with understanding what an unholy lust is. #1 - We need to know what is an unholy lust. How do we know? We use the Word of God as our measuring rod - if the "lust" does not line up with the Word of God, it is not holy. #2 - We need to have a desire to overcome these lusts that war against us. God has equipped us with tools to overcome sin in our lives - it is up to us to use them! Lord willing, we will discuss this again next week. However, we will wait on God and see what He has to say - God bless you!

1-10-12 / Sorrow is better than laughter (Ecclesiastes 7:3) Ecclesiastes 7:3 - Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. Often when I am driving into work, I like to listen to the audio Bible on my phone. I put it on speaker, and it takes me about 15 minutes to get to work. I will often get to hear about 1.5 chapters of any given book in that time. Today, I had began in Ecclesiastes 6, and I get to listen intermittently on the drive. When it came to this verse, it really struck me. I have heard it before, but it never popped out to me like it did today. Does our Bible really tell us that it is good to have sorrow? YES! In the midst of books such as "Your Best Life Now", people are always struggling to find more happiness in their Christian walk. We are tired of the struggles of everyday life, and we want something more. Messages such as what is written in the book are a comfort to the hurting soul, but is happiness the only answer? According to the Bible, NO! God even uses sadness as a blessing in our growth. Let's take a quick look at Ecclesiastes 7:3 - "sorrow is better than laughter". The word "sorrow" comes from the Hebrew word "כַּעַס" (kah'·as), which means "anger, vexation, provocation, grief". The words in the text that are used as English translations are (grief 7, provocation 4, wrath 4, sorrow 3, anger 2, angry 1, indignation 1,provoking 1, sore 1, spite 1). The word "better" comes from the Hebrew word "טוֹב" (tōve), which means "good, pleasant, agreeable". The words in the text that are used as English translations are (good 361, better 72, well 20, goodness 16, goodly 9, best 8, merry 7, fair7, prosperity 6, precious 4, fine 3, wealth 3, beautiful 2, fairer 2, favour 2,glad 2, misc 35). Finally, the word "laughter" comes from the Hebrew word "שְׂחוֹק" (sekh·ōke'), which means " laughter, laughing stock, mocking, derision". The words in the text that are used as English translations are (laughter 6, derision 5, laughing 1, mock 1, laugh to scorn 1, sport 1).A paragraph like this may seem like more of an English class than a Bible lesson. HOWEVER, it is important to understand EVERY word in the Bible - EVEN the ones that we think we already know. Revisiting the meanings from time to time helps bring us back to the basics.What can we get out of the first part of Ecclesiastes 7:3? That we should not be so quick to shun things in life that cause grief, or sorrow. I am sure that in this context, the word "kah-as" (Hebrew for "sorrow") would not mean anger or indignation, or even provoking, although in some definitions it can be used that way. But it surely relates to emotions that are generally the unwanted ones - intense sadness, for instance. However, the Bible teaches that it is better to have sadness than laughter. Does this mean that the Bible is against feeling good? NOT AT ALL! As a matter of fact, the Bible promises us that God will birth a spirit of joy in our hearts if we walk with Him. However, when we walk with Him, He begins to expose the things in our lives that are offensive to His nature. Of course, He is always kind to do it in a gentle way, but we still see where we fail Him. He also shows us shortcomings in the lives of friends and family, and the desperate outcome of the lost if they choose not to repent. Surely seeing all this is enough to birth a spirit of sorrow in the heart of the godly. We even read in Ecclesiastes 1:18 a very bittersweet scripture - "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." People want to know everything, but if they knew it the way He knew it, they would have such a mourning for the lost - the same kind of mourning Jesus had when he hung on the cross and prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34). Also, God is faithful to chasten, or to discipline, His children. He often will allow situations to arise in our lives, to cause us to exercise our spiritual muscles. Some think God is being unfair by allowing adverse situations to come across our paths. However, if there was no obstacle, there would be no opportunity to grow in God. Therefore, the sorrow that God allows to begin has a purpose - it gives you the opportunity to overcome it and become the warrior that God has in mind. REMEMBER - a soldier is never self-led. He knows how to obey orders! To truly be a soldier of Christ, you must be willing to go WHEREVER He leads you - even to places that you wouldn't normally go. This includes the places and situations in life that are sorrowful. Now, let's look at the last part of Ecclesiastes 7:3 - "for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better." Let's begin by taking a look at the original meanings of the words. The word "sadness" comes from the Hebrew word "רֹעַ" (rō'·ah) which means "badness, evil,sadness". The English words derived from this word include (evil 11, wickedness 3, bad 1, badness 1, naughtiness 1, sorrow 1, sadness1). The word "countenance" comes from the Hebrew word "פָּנִים" (pä·nēm' ) which means "face, in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of". The English words derived from this word include (before 1137, face 390, presence 76, because 67, sight 40, countenance30, from 27, person 21, upon 20, of 20, ...me 18, against 17, ...him 16, open13, for 13, toward 9, misc 195). The words "made better" comes from the Hebrew word "יָטַב" (yä·tav') which means "to be good, be pleasing, be well, be glad, to make glad, rejoice". The English words derived from this word include "well 35, good 21, please 14, merry 5, amend 4, better 4, accepted 2,diligently 2, misc 20". I want to assure you that even though it may not be much fun to research the original meanings of the words in the Bible, the small investment of time is EXTREMELY fruitful. I have learned so much about the Bible by taking time NOT reading as fast and as much as I could in the Bible, but rather spending time trying to understand what was written, and also praying for understanding. Of course, praying for understanding is a CRUCIAL part of learning what the Bible truly says - how can you understand the Bible, if you spend no time with the one who inspired it? :-) In short, "for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better" is saying that even though we may go through sad moments in life, God will use them to help us grow spiritually. YES - SADNESS IS A PART OF OUR CHRISTIAN GROWTH!!! In a church age where you are taught to only be happy 24 hours a day, Christians are dealt an unbalanced, UNBIBLICAL message of "If you aren't happy, then something just isn't wrong". Guys, God understands that we are going to be unhappy sometimes. He will allow moments to come to help us grow. With the sunshine, there will also be rain. I want to finish this lesson with a very known piece of the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which inspired a very famous song by The Byrds, "Turn Turn Turn" - God bless! 1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

hello teammates. just thought i could use this forumn to show where we are in our matches at present. at this point we have 2 matches open and needing members to join. we have to have more participation. peace TC http://www.chess.com/groups/matches/modern-crusaders

hello to our group. i have a question for you all. i have 2 Christian teams now and i was wondering if we should not join these 2 groups. both teams have 80 players so we would almost double in size. we all have the same ideas and common goals in mind here. we would be a lot more formidable team to face. we would work on the title together. hope to hear your comments on this subject. peace and blessings to all. TC

01-07-12 / Led by Truth vs. Led by Lusts – Part 1 John 18:37-38 / 37Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. It isn’t that people couldn’t plainly hear Jesus’ voice when he was speaking. That is not what he was referring to in John 18:37. I am going to give one piece of the definition for the word “heareth”, which comes from the Greek word “akouō” – “to understand, perceive the sense of what is said”. It is not just enough to HEAR – there are plenty of people that let words go in one ear, and out the other. They hear what is spoken – the only problem is that they aren’t listening. However, what Jesus was saying was that those who hear him were those who truly understood what he was preaching. The gospel is a funny thing – it is 100% accurate! However, there are so many sects, and denominations, and each one seems to have their own spin on the Bible. I will be honest – at basically every church I have visited, I have found things preached that were inaccurate with the Bible. Sometimes they were little things, and sometimes they were big things. Even though I am a stickler about knowing what the Bible says, I don’t concern myself as badly with the small things. I know that some things are taught ignorantly, and it is not worth it to get riled up over the smaller matters. I could easily throw a fit over hearing someone preach a great message, yet miss one point, and ruin an opportunity later to discuss the Word with the preacher, and possibly give him or her a different look on what the Word says. An example of something I heard recently at a church along this line was a pastor teaching that when they prayed, the congregation was to hold hands. This is not necessarily a bad thing to hold hands while you are praying – it shows unity of mind and spirit, and brotherly love. But, the reasoning was why I consider this a small error in teaching – they were referencing Matthew 18:19 /Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. They taught that since the Word said “touching”, then they were to touch while praying. However, the Word “touching” comes from a Greek word “peri”, which means “about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near”. We see no record of Jesus holding hands with people every time He prayed for them. Remember the man who came to Jesus and asked Him to speak a word of healing for his servant in Matthew 8:5-13? Jesus never grabbed the man’s hand – he simply spoke a word of healing over the man’s servant. How about the man whom Jesus told to take up his bed and walk in John 5:8-9? He rose up without Jesus grabbing his hand to pray for him – the Word is what brought the miracles, not the grabbing of hands. This brings us to an interesting sidenote – we see this in Genesis 1, but maybe we underestimate what it means. We read in Genesis 1 how God created the heavens and the earth – but how did He do it? What tool did He use to do these things? THE WORD! We read that Christ is the Word, “And God SAID, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) God never used His hands, nor His feet. He simply spoke. What power there is in the spoken Word of God! It can unchain a person’s mind from the clouds of darkness – it can free a person’s soul from the chains of depression. It can bring healing to a person’s body. It can restore finances. It can heal a marriage. There is power in the Word of God! Back to the subject - we might say that Jesus could heal others without holding hands, but what about the rest of us? Do we need to hold hands while we pray? No – it isn’t that it is bad. Jesus never commanded us not to hold hands. What he did say is that we must agree – we must be in one mind and one accord. What about when Peter was in prison, and the disciples gathered together to pray for him to be released (Acts 12)? There is no mention of them having to hold hands. What makes the difference here is, once again, they prayed without ceasing for Peter to be released. It had nothing to do with holding hands. Finally, we can look at what Paul taught in Ephesians 1:15-16 / 15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; - Paul most definitely prayed for the saints of God, but he could not be where they were. However, his will united with the Will of the Father – God had favor on Paul, and heard his prayers. IT IS NOT THAT WE HAVE TO BE PHYSICALLY TOUCHING TO BE IN THE WILL OF GOD – IT IS THAT WE ARE IN ONE MIND AND ONE ACCORD, AGREEING UPON THAT WHICH IS GODLY, WHICH WILL CAUSE POWERFUL CHANGE UPON THIS EARTH. I would consider this a small thing – this particular church is a great church, in the sense that it reaches out to the community, it demonstrates love for the fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and it preaches the fundamental gospel of Jesus Christ. They strive to preach that which is holy – I pray that God shows this man the error of this “touching” teaching. I am positive in my spirit that he will take a fresh look at the Word when that day comes, and He will make amends to his teaching. REMEMBER – GOD ALLOWS US TO DO THINGS IN IGNORANCE FOR A TIME, BUT EVENTUALLY HE WILL COME TO REVEAL THAT WHICH IS TRUE. Then there are preachers who alter the gospel in a larger way. One of these larger alterations I have heard recently was that Jesus was rich. This is not an unknown teaching – it was taught by Oral Roberts, a very famous preacher who had the gift of healing. I have heard real testimonies of his healings in meetings – people who said that when he prayed for them, they felt a surge of electricity go through their body, and they were healed of back ailments. But does this mean that everything that Oral Roberts taught was biblical? Not necessarily – remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23 / 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Regardless of the gifts that God gives, if you feel like you have permission to alter God’s word, then you are doing no better than the serpent, who twisted the Word of God in Genesis 3. It is a GRAVE offense to twist the Word – it is important to know the Word, and to not add to it, nor take away. Why are so many churches guilty of this teaching? IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR EYES ON THE PREACHER, AND NOT ON JESUS! Before we continue into why it is taught, we need to take a look at what the Bible really teaches in comparison with what many call the “prosperity” gospel. The preacher was teaching that when the rich young ruler came to Jesus, Jesus never told him to give up EVERYTHING he owned – only the things that he had on his person. This is not true – God required EVERYTHING for the rich young ruler to be perfect. Why? Because if he couldn’t give it all, then that meant that his heart worshipped having things. The teaching of the rich young ruler can be found in Luke 18:18-23. The man could have never followed Jesus, knowing that his things were left behind – he had to be willing to depart from all of it. Does this mean that I have to sell everything I own right this second and give it to the poor? No – but there is more to it than this. For one, EVERYTHING I own belongs to God right now – I can willingly give any of it up at any time if He calls me to do that. Has He called me to do that? No – at the moment, I am not called to be a travelling missionary. The twelve apostles travelled with Jesus anywhere he went. They did not have time to go back and constantly check on their goods – they had been purchased by Jesus to do the Will of the Father. In my house, we distribute of our wealth to the poor. We are not rich in comparison to what the word “rich” means here in America, but we definitely have more than others out there. We take of what God has blessed us with, and we give it to those who are less fortunate. I use the computer and Internet I pay for with the money God has blessed me with to evangelize and spread the gospel. My house is open for teaching of the Word (and other things too). Ultimately, everything I own already belongs to God. HERE IS THE KICKER – if God called you today to leave behind what you own, and go into the mission fields to spread the gospel, would you do it? Is your treasure here on earth, or is it in heaven? If it is here on earth, you will be bound to your possessions, and you will not be able to go. REMEMBER – ANYTHING THAT YOU REFUSE TO GIVE TO GOD GIVES THE DEVIL A FREE LICENSE TO DESTROY THAT THING. God cannot stand idolatry – when you hold anything in higher esteem than God, you have created your own god. I have heard teachings that you can be asleep (still in sin) and still be saved. Churches teach that you can accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and simply be asleep. To be asleep means that you are not growing in Christ – he is not your Lord. Remember – sleep is a symbol of DEATH. I don’t want to be a sleeping Christian – I want to be awake to what He speaks to me, and have a spirit that is willing to hear what He has to say. His word says in 1 Corinthians 15:34 – “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” Jesus Himself says that Lazarus is sleeping, and then right afterwards says that he is dead (John 11:11-14). Why would I want to be “sleeping” spiritually, when a sleeping Christian has no clue about what is going on? Think about it – when you are asleep, people can pass by you, and you are unaware of it. Things can happen, noises, lights…yet you are unconscious to them. So it is in the spiritual – a sleeping Christian cannot discern what is right or wrong, and he will do whatever, whether it is pleasing to the Father or not. He has turned off his ears to hear. Effectively, he is nulling his end of the contract with God – he is not letting Jesus be his Lord. He is not being led by the Spirit. Now, Jesus is not so easy to cast away – His desire is to save that which is lost, and He always comes for us when we fall into sin, to beckon to us to depart from that which is wicked. It is our choice to listen to our Lord, and to “awake to righteousness”. I will probably continue on this next week, the Lord willing, about how we can either choose to be led by the Truth (the Word of God), or be led by our own lusts. Ultimately, if we choose to keep our eyes focused on God and Jesus, we will do just fine! God bless!