When we are evaluating whether or not to give to the homeless or the poor we need to be discerning. If we do not "vet" the homeless and needy, making sure they are not on drugs or alcohol, or homeless by choice because they are lazy.
As an organization, just passing out stuff to anyone is not wise, nor is it Biblical. When we pass out things without evaluating the situation we are merely attempting to make ourselves feel good about giving rather than really showing concern for those in need.
The ridiculous way the city of Portland is handling the homeless is placing a terrible burden on neighborhoods where families reside. These families have children who cannot play in their neighborhoods freely without worry. The homeless in the area urinate on their properties, leave drug needles and other paraphernalia lying around and even approach passers by begging while acting hostile when anyone says no to them. These are not homeless families who happen to be down on their luck, they are people generally who have dropped out of life due to terrible choices. Their greatest need is the Gospel of Christ and instruction in how to get out of their condition.
I am all for feeding someone who approaches me. I never give money but would buy them a sandwich or something to eat. Most people who are homeless in our region are going to waste money on drugs or booze.
2 Thessalonians 3:9-11 "…9 Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies."…
I have met lots of people who refuse to accept help to clean up their lives but will take anything free they can get their hands on. I also know those who don't need the handout but take it because it is free. We need to be asking questions and directing people to the proper help, not just handing out free stuff because it makes us feel good.
It's easy to hand things out, it is more difficult to offer assistance in the form of training that will bring them a lifestyle of success. Unfortunately most homeless don't want to be helped in this way.
When we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our giving, then it will be pleasing to Him. We want to be generous and loving but we want to do it wisely, God's way.
A wise man once said, "give a man a fish and he eats for one day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime."
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Liberal or Conservative Won't Save You
Liberals (narcissists) hate anything that brings standards that they should follow. They want the freedom to do anything they want without any consequences, their god is freedom itself. Unlike Christianity, freedom for the liberal means no responsibility for anything and anyone who would challenge them is on their hate list.
Even conservatives who share Christian values but despise correction or instruction are willing participants in the destruction of our culture.
"Conservative" does not necessarily mean "Christian", many people can be decent citizens without being Christian, but they will always be somewhat hostile to believers when believers express their opinion about the need to submit to Christ.
This life is not about "Conservative" or "liberal", no one will get into heaven because they claim to be good people no matter which stripe they claim. Only trusting Christ will bring salvation.
When we trust Christ, grateful for His payment for our sin on the cross, confessing that we want Him to change us into a new creation, then and only then will His Holy Spirit come and dwell in us to begin the process of changing us.
We should be growing our entire lives in holiness. However we will only grow in direct proportions to how much we seek Him and submit to Him. Those who do not grow, remaining spiritual babies their entire lives, may have become born again, but have missed the opportunity to grow by ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit and resisting His correction. When we resist the Holy Spirit He will stop talking until we confess the sin of stubbornness.
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
1 Corinthians 3:14-15 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…"
Even conservatives who share Christian values but despise correction or instruction are willing participants in the destruction of our culture.
"Conservative" does not necessarily mean "Christian", many people can be decent citizens without being Christian, but they will always be somewhat hostile to believers when believers express their opinion about the need to submit to Christ.
This life is not about "Conservative" or "liberal", no one will get into heaven because they claim to be good people no matter which stripe they claim. Only trusting Christ will bring salvation.
When we trust Christ, grateful for His payment for our sin on the cross, confessing that we want Him to change us into a new creation, then and only then will His Holy Spirit come and dwell in us to begin the process of changing us.
We should be growing our entire lives in holiness. However we will only grow in direct proportions to how much we seek Him and submit to Him. Those who do not grow, remaining spiritual babies their entire lives, may have become born again, but have missed the opportunity to grow by ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit and resisting His correction. When we resist the Holy Spirit He will stop talking until we confess the sin of stubbornness.
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
1 Corinthians 3:14-15 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…"
Saturday, September 10, 2016
He Who Began A Good Work
Christ died for our sin, there is no time with God, our past present and future is all the same to Christ . His blood covers our sins, we are not judged unsaved because of a sin, we are disciplined but not thrown away.
Philippians 1:5-6 "5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
No man can live up to God's standard of sinlessness in this life. Only Christ in us is sinless and His blood covers us. Just like the account of the Jews protected by the blood smeared on the doorposts when the Spirit of God saw the blood and passed over the Jews for judgement, so are we covered in Christ's blood.
None of my attempts to be good will gain me heaven, before or after salvation. It's all about Christ. When I trusted what He did for me, then He imputed to me His sacrifice on the cross, because you see...I could not die for my sins, it had to be a Sinless Perfect One Who did that, I do not qualify. Just as I cannot die for my sin, how silly to think that I could try real hard to be good to keep salvation that required the death of the perfect sinless God?
I am thankful that Christ took it all upon Himself, that I might be seen as righteous. His righteousness is accounted to me.
Even the smallest sin could have kept us out of heaven, but because of Christ NO sin will keep us out if we have trusted Him. HOWEVER, when we become born again He changes our desires, we no longer want to sin, but we sometimes fail. That's why Christ gave us 1 John 1:9, written to believers.
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
AND, 1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."
Only those who belong to Christ have an advocate. They have an advocate because they sin.
We do not want to sin, we hate it, but we fail, that failure does not lose us salvation, it may make us miserable, the consequences may overwhelm us so that we will confess that sin and return to fellowship with Christ.
We cannot lose our salvation if we have been born again into a new creation, but we can lose fellowship with Christ until we confess and return to obedience. When we refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit that lives in us, then He will stop speaking to us until we come back into fellowship with Him through humble submission.
1 Corinthians 1:8-10
"…8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.…"
Ephesians 4:30
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish (silence) the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
Keep in mind that disobedience to Christ can leave us with very sad and devastating consequences, often life long. We cannot expect to test God and remain unscathed by the affects of sin.
Philippians 1:5-6 "5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
No man can live up to God's standard of sinlessness in this life. Only Christ in us is sinless and His blood covers us. Just like the account of the Jews protected by the blood smeared on the doorposts when the Spirit of God saw the blood and passed over the Jews for judgement, so are we covered in Christ's blood.
None of my attempts to be good will gain me heaven, before or after salvation. It's all about Christ. When I trusted what He did for me, then He imputed to me His sacrifice on the cross, because you see...I could not die for my sins, it had to be a Sinless Perfect One Who did that, I do not qualify. Just as I cannot die for my sin, how silly to think that I could try real hard to be good to keep salvation that required the death of the perfect sinless God?
I am thankful that Christ took it all upon Himself, that I might be seen as righteous. His righteousness is accounted to me.
Even the smallest sin could have kept us out of heaven, but because of Christ NO sin will keep us out if we have trusted Him. HOWEVER, when we become born again He changes our desires, we no longer want to sin, but we sometimes fail. That's why Christ gave us 1 John 1:9, written to believers.
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
AND, 1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."
Only those who belong to Christ have an advocate. They have an advocate because they sin.
We do not want to sin, we hate it, but we fail, that failure does not lose us salvation, it may make us miserable, the consequences may overwhelm us so that we will confess that sin and return to fellowship with Christ.
We cannot lose our salvation if we have been born again into a new creation, but we can lose fellowship with Christ until we confess and return to obedience. When we refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit that lives in us, then He will stop speaking to us until we come back into fellowship with Him through humble submission.
1 Corinthians 1:8-10
"…8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.…"
Ephesians 4:30
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish (silence) the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
Keep in mind that disobedience to Christ can leave us with very sad and devastating consequences, often life long. We cannot expect to test God and remain unscathed by the affects of sin.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Nothing or No One Above God
Unity comes when the Holy Spirit is obeyed and when we obey God's principles. Unity is never compromising truth just to get along. It is error that is divisive.
One time many years ago a friend told me that we must compromise the Gospel for the sake of unity. Sadly this is what many people are being taught today.
Who is our god when people's feelings and desires are placed above God? Think about it!
One time many years ago a friend told me that we must compromise the Gospel for the sake of unity. Sadly this is what many people are being taught today.
Who is our god when people's feelings and desires are placed above God? Think about it!
Thursday, September 8, 2016
How Do Cults Begin
Cults begin when someone decides they want to believe something. So they make up their minds to pretend a thing and add some of the word of God to it to make is seem alright, then they begin to intimidate others into believing it.
It takes a weak and beggarly mind to fall into the trap of cults, when all we have to do is seek Christ for ourselves, then Christ will reveal Himself and bring truth to anyone who wants it.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
It will make others angry when we begin to ask many questions, seek many answers and refuse to follow those who wish to control us.
Do not be controlled by people, rather be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
It takes a weak and beggarly mind to fall into the trap of cults, when all we have to do is seek Christ for ourselves, then Christ will reveal Himself and bring truth to anyone who wants it.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
It will make others angry when we begin to ask many questions, seek many answers and refuse to follow those who wish to control us.
Do not be controlled by people, rather be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Denominationalism is Disobedience
Denominationalism is also not Biblical, it is divisive in favor of one special doctrine over another. When we elevate one principle as better than other principles it sends a wrong message to the unsaved world.
ALL of the Bible should be honored. Also the churches in the NT were not named after pet doctrine, they were named according to the city they were in, example; "the church at Ephasus."
ALL of the Bible should be honored. Also the churches in the NT were not named after pet doctrine, they were named according to the city they were in, example; "the church at Ephasus."
The Way of the Modern Church
The "way this culture does church" is not at all Biblical, not only in the leadership but also the structure. When we see how every man can speak in the gathering with a leader as a guide, then error can be handled immediately or adding to support a leader is valuable, but only one man always preaching without interaction of the congregation is not Biblical.
The gatherings that don't allow a man to stand and correct or add to the sermon are indulging in unBiblical tradition.
1 Corinthians 14:29 "29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should hold his peace.…"
When is the last time you saw this much congregation interaction in the gathering? It is forbidden in almost all churches these days with the rare exception of the "Brethren Assemblies", which are in the model of the first century church. They do not have a salaried pastor and a man may be the main speaker but every man interacts and the speaker is different each weak. The men as a whole are participating in the speaking and interaction in the gatherings.
Denominationalism is also not Biblical, it is divisive in favor of one special doctrine over another. When we elevate one principle as better than other principles it sends a wrong message to the unsaved world.
ALL of the Bible should be honored. Also the churches in the NT were not named after pet doctrine, they were named according to the city they were in, example; "the church at Ephasus."
The gatherings that don't allow a man to stand and correct or add to the sermon are indulging in unBiblical tradition.
1 Corinthians 14:29 "29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should hold his peace.…"
When is the last time you saw this much congregation interaction in the gathering? It is forbidden in almost all churches these days with the rare exception of the "Brethren Assemblies", which are in the model of the first century church. They do not have a salaried pastor and a man may be the main speaker but every man interacts and the speaker is different each weak. The men as a whole are participating in the speaking and interaction in the gatherings.
Denominationalism is also not Biblical, it is divisive in favor of one special doctrine over another. When we elevate one principle as better than other principles it sends a wrong message to the unsaved world.
ALL of the Bible should be honored. Also the churches in the NT were not named after pet doctrine, they were named according to the city they were in, example; "the church at Ephasus."
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