Hello Guys and Gals,
Do you know the definition of Blasphemy? The most common definition is also the most misunderstood one: taking the name of the Lord in vain. Why is it misunderstood? Because through translation, traditional teaching, misapplication, and just a general ignorance of scripture, it is not understood in it's purest understanding. Yet if you break down that statement into the plainest understanding of the language, you have a very clear understanding of blasphemy.
Taking (using) the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ, YHWH, Jehovah) in vain (in your own vanity)! This breakdown of the language leads me to believe that the most common definition of blasphemy is simply: taking the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, upon yourself for the sake of your own vanity in the eyes of the world; or calling yourself a Christian without an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ!
Do you know that to truly be a Christian, it is not just saying some magical words one day in church that were given to you by some church leader, who may be a false christian themselves, in order to obtain mercy from God!
Do you know that one of the main teachings of the Emergent Church today is that when Jesus Christ came and was crucified for our sins upon the cross, that he is no longer a God of wrath as in the Old Testament, but rather changed into a God of Love and did away with His wrath forever?
Let us take a look at that thought then.
First, the whole of scripture is replete with the knowledge that God does not change:
29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind.” ~ 1 Samuel 15:29 HCSB.
34 I will not violate My covenant or change what My lips have said. ~ Psalms 89:34 HCSB.
12 You will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like a robe.But You are the same,and Your years will never end. ~ Hebrews 1:12 HCSB.
21 but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him:The Lord has sworn,and He will not change His mind,You are a priest forever. ~ Hebrews 7:21 HCSB.
But is God now a God of Love excluding His wrath from the cross forward? Does God's wrath no longer apply?
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24 Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen. ~ Romans 1:18-25 HCSB.
25 Make sure that you do not reject the One who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven. 26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what is not shaken might remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. ~ Hebrews 12:25-29 HCSB.
Not only do these two passages of New Testament scripture testify to the wrath of God, but is this Emergent Church forgetting about the wrath to come given in the Revelation of John the Apostle?
And yet, people still believe that God can be a God of Love and no longer be a God of Wrath. I ask the question of what good does the love of God do for you if it does not save you from the wrath of God that is to come? If there is no more wrath in God, and there is no wrath to come, what good is the love of God? Is it only for a hug? That is the picture which the Emergent Church is putting forth as the new concept of Christ: that He only seeks to love and no longer has any wrath toward anyone in the world.
Well, if a hug is all that is needed, take twenty dollars and go down to the street corner, find yourself a whore and get yourself a hug! Once you have that hug, be content in your life for you have no need to fear God's wrath, for it no longer exists... right?
Or am I blaspheming the god of the world too much with my politically incorrect statement of calling bullcrap on the Emergent Church's doctrine?
The simple fact remains that, without the wrath of God, specifically the wrath of God to come (in the future and soon), there is no longer any need for the love of God!
Well if God does not change, and He is still a God of wrath as He is in the Old Testament, then He would not make void the need for His grace and love by doing away with His wrath!
It is because of His righteous wrath, the wrath that is rightly deserved by a sinful world, the wrath that is to come against all the sin in the world and in the church of false believers calling themselves by the name of my Lord Jesus Christ without an intimate relationship with him, the wrath that has being held in check by the true members of the church praying that all who seek may find salvation by having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ; it is because of this very wrath of God that our NEED for the grace and love of God exists!
God's grace is extended to us all so that we may escape the wrath that is to come for God would not want any to perish but He must maintain His holiness by dispensing justice rightly to any who transgress against Him; and only those who come to Him on their knees begging for Him to grant unto them His grace which He has made available to all; are they able to escape the wrath of God that is to come upon a sinful world for our rebellion against Him!
Sadly, those who end up in Gehenna, the Lake of Eternal Fire, and become separated from God, are those who choose to remain in their rebellion and slavery to sin and Satan, rather than submit themselves to Jesus Christ in order to gain salvation and find true freedom in life by being in an intimate relationship with Him!
Choose this day whom you will serve! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord Jesus Christ!
May God bless you all this day!
10 September 2014
04 September 2014
A New Question!
Hello Guys and Gals,
God has been speaking to my heart of a couple of topics, and I want to pose a couple of questions for you to consider today. My daily devotions took me into Revelation the other day, and while I was reading the Holy Spirit illuminated something to me in Matthew. Friends, it is amazing how all of scripture agrees with itself and demonstrates that it is inspired by God. So many would have us believe that mere men wrote the scripture, but the Bible proves over and over that it is truly the inspired word of God in text.
My first question to you to consider is this: How is your relationship with Jesus Christ today?
Now I have a second follow-up question: What if you knew that the end of times events described in Revelation had started; would you seek a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?
Let me preface this post by saying that this is an ongoing study in scripture for me. It has come to light within me by the guiding hand of God and I pray you take heed of my words so that you may find surety in your relationship with Jesus Christ!
I believe that the words in the bible should be taken literally because they are the literal words of God. While I was reading the events of Revelation, Chapters 6 & 7, I began to ask myself the question of when should I head for the mountains as Jesus warned. I then looked up that scripture and found it to be in Matthew, Chapter 24. Then, as I was reading, I started noticing some things that were the same words or phrases used in both of them!
First in Revelation...
12 Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13 the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand? ” ~ Revelation 6:12-17.
Then in Matthew...
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. 6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these events are the beginning of birth pains. ~ Matthew 24:5-8.
15 “So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand ), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! ~ Matthew 24:15-16.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days:The sun will be darkened,and the moon will not shed its light;the stars will fall from the sky,and the celestial powers will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. ~ Matthew 24:27-31
Now add to this the fact that Heavenly places can also mean High places or Places of Rulership or Worship. And stars can mean those who shine like stars in the eyes of the world. Keep in mind that stars falling from high places is different terminology than celestial powers. Stars falling from high places can mean those who are celebrated in society will fall from their status in the world's eyes. And celestial powers being shaken literally means the powers of the celestial areas: or more accurately stated as things in outer space! Could this be referring to some satellites falling? Or does it mean stars in our skies falling to the Earth? Or are there two different meaning with these two statements: one being the rulers falling from grace and the other referring to a meteor shower or something similar?
These are all questions in my mind and heart that are wanting a clearer understanding. Yet one thing is clear to me, the Tribulation times described in prophecy in the Word of God are coming into play! I know my relationship with Jesus Christ is a very intimate relationship where I strive to learn and love at his feet! Is your relationship also intimate? Are you following Jesus where Jesus went? Are you sure of your salvation in your intimate relationship with Jesus that there is no doubt at Jesus telling his Father that you are one that he does know well?
May God bless you all this night!
God has been speaking to my heart of a couple of topics, and I want to pose a couple of questions for you to consider today. My daily devotions took me into Revelation the other day, and while I was reading the Holy Spirit illuminated something to me in Matthew. Friends, it is amazing how all of scripture agrees with itself and demonstrates that it is inspired by God. So many would have us believe that mere men wrote the scripture, but the Bible proves over and over that it is truly the inspired word of God in text.
My first question to you to consider is this: How is your relationship with Jesus Christ today?
Now I have a second follow-up question: What if you knew that the end of times events described in Revelation had started; would you seek a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?
Let me preface this post by saying that this is an ongoing study in scripture for me. It has come to light within me by the guiding hand of God and I pray you take heed of my words so that you may find surety in your relationship with Jesus Christ!
I believe that the words in the bible should be taken literally because they are the literal words of God. While I was reading the events of Revelation, Chapters 6 & 7, I began to ask myself the question of when should I head for the mountains as Jesus warned. I then looked up that scripture and found it to be in Matthew, Chapter 24. Then, as I was reading, I started noticing some things that were the same words or phrases used in both of them!
First in Revelation...
12 Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13 the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand? ” ~ Revelation 6:12-17.
Then in Matthew...
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. 6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these events are the beginning of birth pains. ~ Matthew 24:5-8.
15 “So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand ), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! ~ Matthew 24:15-16.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days:The sun will be darkened,and the moon will not shed its light;the stars will fall from the sky,and the celestial powers will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. ~ Matthew 24:27-31
Now add to this the fact that Heavenly places can also mean High places or Places of Rulership or Worship. And stars can mean those who shine like stars in the eyes of the world. Keep in mind that stars falling from high places is different terminology than celestial powers. Stars falling from high places can mean those who are celebrated in society will fall from their status in the world's eyes. And celestial powers being shaken literally means the powers of the celestial areas: or more accurately stated as things in outer space! Could this be referring to some satellites falling? Or does it mean stars in our skies falling to the Earth? Or are there two different meaning with these two statements: one being the rulers falling from grace and the other referring to a meteor shower or something similar?
These are all questions in my mind and heart that are wanting a clearer understanding. Yet one thing is clear to me, the Tribulation times described in prophecy in the Word of God are coming into play! I know my relationship with Jesus Christ is a very intimate relationship where I strive to learn and love at his feet! Is your relationship also intimate? Are you following Jesus where Jesus went? Are you sure of your salvation in your intimate relationship with Jesus that there is no doubt at Jesus telling his Father that you are one that he does know well?
May God bless you all this night!
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