Look What the Lord has Given Us

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is your name in all the Earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of enemy and the avenger. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visits him? For You have made him little lower than the angles, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Your have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea, That swims the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth.  -Psalms 8 NKJV

I look at this verse and I wonder why God made me. I always think to myself that he was wasting his time but I just ask Him to show me what He sees in me and He does. God has a plan for all His children even though we are undeserving of His grace and love which he demonstrated by humbling Himself to death on a cross. Sometimes I get routine in my Christian walk or I become discouraged but then I read this verse I wonder why God would love me enough to want to know me or visit me, or that he would give me the whole world and everything in it. I look at the sky at night and see the moon and stars and I remember that God created all those stars, moons, planets, solar systems, galaxies, the whole universe with the touch of His finger. Who is Like Him, certainly His name is excellent in all the earth.

Suffering for God's Glory

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of golry and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed , but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgement to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first. What will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." 1 Peter 4:12-19 NASB

 

Hey! As christians we are called to suffer for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We think sometimes that it is strange when we go through trials. We demand quick justice when we are wronged. We cannot handle the trials, we cannot endure the persecution. Why do we become upset the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we are a new creation. Rather than be upset, put down or give up durring our trials we should rejoice.  Are we not baptized by the Holy Spirit and saved by the grace of Christ's blood? We are a new being, a different creation there is no time for giving up; go outside the city walls and bare the same suffering that Christ bore. The end is near and not far from now the return of Christ will come so live for Christ and rejoicing in suffering in the short time you have left.  In the NASB Romans 13:11, "Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed".  As disciples of Christ we should be suffering in trials, in fact the Bible promises that we will suffer for the name of Christ and will be persecuted for accomplishing the Lord's will. I encourage everyone of you not to be afraid, have you forgotten that you belong to a God who is the God of all comfort? Please do not be fearful for in the Lord there is no fear. But stand strong during these times knowing that your feet are planted on the rock and all other ground is sinking sand. I know christians that have wronged myself and God by being afraid to stand up for the truth.  When men slander and lie and curse as christian we must stand for what is right and true according to the word of God. Peter writes in verse 19 of 1 peter chapter 4, "Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right". Why are we afraid to stand up for what is right? You must entrust your soul to a faithful Creator; and He is faithful so trust Him with your very soul. You will have justice and God promises it to you, live to die to yourself daily pick up your cross and follow Christ. He will never fail, He will never change, He will always comfort, and His love will never fail. If you can't stand up for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ than you have no faith at all.

There is a Way to Conduct Ourselves as a Church Body

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him ecourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.   -Romans 12:3-8 -NIV

As, fellow Christians today, I see animostiy between the brethern. We devote ourselves to brotherly warfare instead of brotherly love. The church is supposed to be a place of fellowship, where God's childern should gather for a place of teaching and edification through spiritual gifts. I don't see Compass Bible church in particular tearing down eachother but other churches around my local area in Calirornia seemed to be fighting their own family instead of their enimies. Their attention and spiritual warefare should really be focccused toward those whe practice lawlessness. My goal at least right now as a beliver in Christ is to edify people in the church. My goal is to encourage and build up one another, making strong disciples and keeping them from turning on eachother and instead turn them to living in harmony with one another as they should. My goal is not only to provide truth to non-christains but start fires and fan into flame what is just lukewarm, burnning embers, that we see living lives without extremity, without being cold or hot. Every lukewarm christain is not really a follower of Chirst, but is wanted by Christ to be vommitted out of His mouth. I hope that to those people I can be a light and an example, so that they can either be turned away by the truth or fanned into flame. Let us reach way outside the chrurch to draw in the lost, but don't forget about the people we see every week, that they might be lost as well and yet they gear and testify to the word of God every week. And let us not forget about our true famliy that abides in Christ and we should uplift them in a way according to our spiritual gifts.

Pick Your Cross

15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.

Latley I've been talking to many christians who claim to be followers of Christ who are deffinatley lukewarm. Last week I was trying to have fellowship with one of my friends from work who claims he is a practicing disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the midst of our conversation he used a curse word. I quickly responded and pierced him with the word of truth, and he became extremley defensive, claiming God would forgive him every day for cursing, simply because he asks for forgiveness every night. It seems that in this day it is common to be lukewarm and anyone who is a christain according the Bible's standards is a hard core christain. I know that many chruches today preach that this type of living is accepted by God. Clearly in Revelations 19:16 God decalres with wrath, "so, because you are lukewarm- niether hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. John writes that anyone living like this is poor and naked, and pittiful. John claims that he could offer them gold, pure and refined gold. In Revelations Jesus has shown John that this church has no God, For Jesus states clearly," Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. Saying that, you the church, who call this place a house of God, have kicked me out. I am not there, none of you have hearts that are all for serving me, I am not in your church, I clearly stand outside at the door and knock. Today we have mega-churches preaching forgivness without repentance and a calling for blind faith that does not produce love or hope. Enter through the Narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many pass through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and few find it. Jesus stands outside these churches and knocks, they have kicked Him out, he is not there. The mega-churches of today are leading people astray. I am afraid that many of those people are on the broad path. Jesus states, "Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many on that day will say to me, Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and perform many miaracles. Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you, away from me you evil doers. How sad that so many are decieved and decieve themselves. We must be doing, not merely listening. Not wishing and wanting and waiting around for our lives to change but now is the time to take affirmative action, and do the will of our Father who is in heaven. Saddly I don't think that even a slight amount of people who claim to be a followers of Christ have shown love for him by obeying his commands. And most of us our led astray.