In our Christian walk we usually hear certain words used concerning why we should meet. Men in pulpits urge the people "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves".
Of which I agree that we as believers must be willing to meet with other believers. And in saying that I would like to show some of the words that are associated with what we do when we meet. Along with them I will post the definitions. All of the definitions I will use in this illustration is from the "Webster's New Universal UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY" in other words a really big blue book full of words and their meanings.
I urge you to read these words and see the meaning behind them, then relate all of this with how and why we meet. There has been too much weakness in our meetings. We seem to have become anemic in how we come together. We must all be willing to participate when we come together. And doing so remember the meanings I have given. Maybe this will stop a lot of confusion and hurt.
These words are all used in the Bible at various places in the New Testament;
ADMONISH: to caution, advise, or counsel against something. 2. To reprove or scold, 3. to urge to duty; remind
BUILD UP: a process of growth, strengthening; development. A process of preparation. An increase, as in potential, intensity, pressure or the like. Encouragement.
EDIFY: to build up or increase the faith.
EXHORT: to urge, advise, or caution earnestly, admonish urgently.
EXHORTATION: an utterance, discourse, or address conveying urgent advice or recommendations
REBUKE: to express sharp stern disapproval of; reprove, reprimand
STIR: to incite, instigate, or prompt , to affect strongly; rouse, foment, arouse, provoke, stimulate, goad, spur.
WARN: to give notice, or intimidation (to a person or group) of danger, impending evil, possible harm or anything else unfavorable
WARNING: the act of utterance of one who warns
Now I would ask this. Does this remind you of any meeting of the saints you have been in lately?
At anytime there should be one of these words being shown in action during our times of assembly.
Whether on a Sunday morning or other type of group settings.
We as Christians must be willing to operate in the Spirit which exudes LOVE in order to see people become stronger in our walk with the Lord.
The word says that we are to attain the unity of one faith.
So be prepared when you go to meet. You may be the one the Lord uses to bring about some of what is mentioned above.
The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword.
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
When you do some sharpening of two pieces of iron there will be sparks. Yet the end result is to get the rough edges off and have a nice sharp piece.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Binding and Loosing....the devil is not biblical!!!!
Feel free to comment on this statement if you want, but I will show you from the word of God that the only place the devil is bound in the scripture is found in Revelation. Even then it is done by Jesus and not us.
Too much is biblical error has been around concerning this unbiblical practice of binding the devil and his demons.
If this was truly a biblical reality then why didn't Paul do it when he had the messenger of satan buffeting him?
Also why didn't Jesus just bind satan when the devil was tempting him in the desert?
Why isn't there any clear biblical statement in the word on binding the devil?
Hum...maybe because there isn't any!
Too much is biblical error has been around concerning this unbiblical practice of binding the devil and his demons.
If this was truly a biblical reality then why didn't Paul do it when he had the messenger of satan buffeting him?
Also why didn't Jesus just bind satan when the devil was tempting him in the desert?
Why isn't there any clear biblical statement in the word on binding the devil?
Hum...maybe because there isn't any!
Monday, February 1, 2010
What does Christianity have to do with politics?
Lately I have been truly struggling to seperate my drive for the gospel from my drive for politics.
I have been trying to truly focus on the Lords work and not worry about the political landscape here in the U.S. .
What happened is I can't! It can't be separated no matter how hard you try.
Let me say this before I go further into this.
I am not a Democrat nor a Republican!
Now that I got that out of the way I will continue to try and answer the question of what does Christianity have to do with politcs.
First of all most of the governments in the world are comprised of religions. Communism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddism etc.
And here in the U.S. a lot of what has been put into the Constitution is from the Bible.
Yet in our time most of what is being brought about is Socialism which can and will lead to Communism or Facism.
Right now our very religious freedoms are being taken over by these factions.
You see the religious of Jesus' day were afraid of the Roman empire. They were concerned that the things Jesus was doing would get them into trouble with the government and in turn they would be forbidden to continue in their traditions.
"If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." John 11:48
In so doing they sought to kill him. They also wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed to be God.
Yet in their zeal to try and keep unity between them and the Roman government they wanted Jesus dead.
You see the false religions of the world want to destroy Christianity and those who believe in the true God!
Anything that has to do with the name of Jesus is an enemy to the world and it's system of false religions.
So the only way these religions have to try and stifle Christians is to use government.
That is what was being done in Jesus's day. The religious tried to use the government to stifle the Word that became flesh.
As believers we don't have to be afraid of the government system. No, we are to be praying for those in leadership and be prepared for those who will be seeking answers. So that we can give them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We as believers in the U.S. must be ready for what is going to happen. As the freedoms of this nation get taken away so goes the freedoms to express our Christianity openly.
Our nation is taking the steps of other nations in trying to make it illegal to speak openly about Jesus Christ in public places.
The government already has a hold of the religious system called the church. Using the 501c3 laws and such telling the leaders what they can or can't say or they will lose their tax free status.
You may think that the U.S. church is free, but in reality it is in bed with the government having allowed itself to use the laws of the government in order to build bigger buildings etc.
Yet as the Lord seems to be moving in the U.S. especially when it comes to how and where we meet, who fights this?
The machine called the U.S. church.
In China when people meet in homes it is called church. Yet in the U.S. when Christians meet in homes it is not recognized as the church.
Again I am not saying one is correct and the other is wrong. I am stating that what is happening is the Lord is preparing a move that is taking people away from the machine system and putting them into a more simple way of meeting.
How does politics fall into all of this?
The government is already one step into controling the church system, just like in China. Where the government has to approve of what is church.
Yet those who are hungry and wanting to truly follow Christ and are willing to risk their lives are meeting in homes and other places.
The government has already got a foothold in the modern church of the U.S. and it is just a few steps away from taking it all.
So to the conclusion of the whole matter and back to the original question.
What does Christianity have to do with politcs?
Just as in the day of Rome the religous of the day were afraid of what the government will do to them if Jesus continued to preach the truth. They didn't want to cause a rift with government.
They wanted to keep the status quo, so they could continue to meet the way they did.
As with today, there are many in the U.S. church system that don't want to cause a rift with the government, because that would hurt their enterprise.
Yet Jesus and the gospel will always cause division!
And if it means meeting outside of the box and going against the government then so be it and be ready.
Wake up oh sleeper! Wake up!
I have been trying to truly focus on the Lords work and not worry about the political landscape here in the U.S. .
What happened is I can't! It can't be separated no matter how hard you try.
Let me say this before I go further into this.
I am not a Democrat nor a Republican!
Now that I got that out of the way I will continue to try and answer the question of what does Christianity have to do with politcs.
First of all most of the governments in the world are comprised of religions. Communism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddism etc.
And here in the U.S. a lot of what has been put into the Constitution is from the Bible.
Yet in our time most of what is being brought about is Socialism which can and will lead to Communism or Facism.
Right now our very religious freedoms are being taken over by these factions.
You see the religious of Jesus' day were afraid of the Roman empire. They were concerned that the things Jesus was doing would get them into trouble with the government and in turn they would be forbidden to continue in their traditions.
"If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." John 11:48
In so doing they sought to kill him. They also wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed to be God.
Yet in their zeal to try and keep unity between them and the Roman government they wanted Jesus dead.
You see the false religions of the world want to destroy Christianity and those who believe in the true God!
Anything that has to do with the name of Jesus is an enemy to the world and it's system of false religions.
So the only way these religions have to try and stifle Christians is to use government.
That is what was being done in Jesus's day. The religious tried to use the government to stifle the Word that became flesh.
As believers we don't have to be afraid of the government system. No, we are to be praying for those in leadership and be prepared for those who will be seeking answers. So that we can give them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We as believers in the U.S. must be ready for what is going to happen. As the freedoms of this nation get taken away so goes the freedoms to express our Christianity openly.
Our nation is taking the steps of other nations in trying to make it illegal to speak openly about Jesus Christ in public places.
The government already has a hold of the religious system called the church. Using the 501c3 laws and such telling the leaders what they can or can't say or they will lose their tax free status.
You may think that the U.S. church is free, but in reality it is in bed with the government having allowed itself to use the laws of the government in order to build bigger buildings etc.
Yet as the Lord seems to be moving in the U.S. especially when it comes to how and where we meet, who fights this?
The machine called the U.S. church.
In China when people meet in homes it is called church. Yet in the U.S. when Christians meet in homes it is not recognized as the church.
Again I am not saying one is correct and the other is wrong. I am stating that what is happening is the Lord is preparing a move that is taking people away from the machine system and putting them into a more simple way of meeting.
How does politics fall into all of this?
The government is already one step into controling the church system, just like in China. Where the government has to approve of what is church.
Yet those who are hungry and wanting to truly follow Christ and are willing to risk their lives are meeting in homes and other places.
The government has already got a foothold in the modern church of the U.S. and it is just a few steps away from taking it all.
So to the conclusion of the whole matter and back to the original question.
What does Christianity have to do with politcs?
Just as in the day of Rome the religous of the day were afraid of what the government will do to them if Jesus continued to preach the truth. They didn't want to cause a rift with government.
They wanted to keep the status quo, so they could continue to meet the way they did.
As with today, there are many in the U.S. church system that don't want to cause a rift with the government, because that would hurt their enterprise.
Yet Jesus and the gospel will always cause division!
And if it means meeting outside of the box and going against the government then so be it and be ready.
Wake up oh sleeper! Wake up!
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